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Disambig This article is about Ichthyornis, not to be confused with Ichthyosaurus Ichthyosaurus






















Ichthyornis
Ichthyornis
Steam 256.0
Mar 31, 2017
Xbox One 753.0
Apr 26, 2017
PS 506.0
Apr 26, 2017
Nintendo Switch 599.0
Nov 30, 2018
Epic Games 311.74
Jun 11, 2020
Stadia 678.15
Sep 1, 2021
Spawn Command
cheat summon Ichthyornis_Character_BP_C
or
cheat SpawnDino "Blueprint'Your items'" 500 0 0 35
29 - 32 °C / 84 - 90 °F
Egg Incubator (Genesis Part 2) Egg Incubator: 31 °C / 88 °F
Incubation Time
1h 39m 59.521s
Baby Time
3h 42m 13.333s
Juvenile Time
14h 48m 53.331s
Adolescent Time
18h 31m 6.664s
Total Maturation Time
1d 13h 2m 13.328s
Breeding Interval
18h - 2d

The Ichthyornis also known as Stealgull is one of the Creatures in ARK: Survival Evolved.

Basic Infos[]

Dossier[]

This section is intended to be an exact copy of what the survivor Helena Walker, the author of the dossiers, has written. There may be some discrepancies between this text and the in-game creature.

NoteHelena
Species

Ichthyornis piscoquus

Time

Late Cretaceous

Diet

Piscivore

Temperament

Skittish

Wild

Among the most vocal creatures on the Island, Ichthyornis piscoquus actually appears to be a relatively normal seagull. It primarily eats fish, and its distinctive cries can be heard echoing over across the Island's many beaches. As you might expect from a seagull, Ichthyornis will flee at the slightest provocation. Ichthyornis is a versatile and opportunistic hunter. Its primary form of attack is to dive into the top layers of water and impale its prey. However, since its food source can be unpredictable, Ichthyornis has developed a keen ability to steal food from unsuspecting travelers. Their affinity for shiny objects leads them to sometimes knock tools and weapons out of the hands of unsuspecting Survivors, but Ichthyornis is too small to actually fly off with them.

Domesticated

Ichthyornis surprised me by being a very loyal and very social creature, once tamed. It likes to ride on its owner's shoulder, and bring that person treats (in the form of fish, of course) which its beak-grip enhances with extra healing vitamins. The personality of Ichthyornis reminds me of a housecat hauling a trophy prey back home, except it brings extra-healthy fish instead.

Behavior[]

Unlike what their dossier says, the Ichthyornis acts aggressively toward the player, stealing items unprovoked. They do not steal the player's tools, they disarm them and throw it on the ground which they can pick back up. The Ichthyornis does, however, steal the player's food and eat it. The Ichthyornis will attack even if the player has nothing in their inventory. This behavior has made them one of the most hated creatures of ARK. Unlike other aggressive creatures however, they will not attack every time. A player can stand directly beneath them for several minutes before being targeted, while other times immediately come under attack, even with the same animal. They are extremely unpredictable.

Appearance[]

Ichthyornis are a common sight on the coasts of the ARK, and players will often hear their squawking over the pounding surf. They resemble standard modern herons in all aspects, but one. They bare rows of serrated teeth within their beaks - the perfect tools for gripping on to slippery fish.

Color Scheme and Regions[]

This section displays the Ichthyornis's natural colors and regions. For demonstration, the regions below are colored red over an albino Ichthyornis. The colored squares shown underneath each region's description are the colors that the Ichthyornis will randomly spawn with to provide an overall range of its natural color scheme. Hover your cursor over a color to display its name and ID.

This information can be used to alter the Ichthyornis's regions by entering cheat SetTargetDinoColor <ColorRegion> <ColorID> in the cheat console. For instance, cheat SetTargetDinoColor 0 6 would color the Ichthyornis's "body" magenta.

Ichthyornis PaintRegion0
Region 0:
Body
8
13
14
21
22
28
32
33
34
35
36
Ichthyornis PaintRegion1
Region 1:
Feet
8
14
19
21
23
28
30
32
33
46
X mark

Region 2 is not used
for this Creature.

X mark

Region 3 is not used
for this Creature.

X mark

Region 4 is not used
for this Creature.

Ichthyornis PaintRegion5
Region 5:
Face
13
14
22
24
33
34
35

Drops[]

Base Stats and Growth[]

Attribute Base Value Level Increase Taming Bonus
Wild Tamed Additive Multiplicative
Health Health 50 +10 +5.4% 0.07 (TBHM: 200%)
Stamina Stamina 150 +15 +10%
Oxygen Oxygen 150 +15 +10%
Food Food 1000 +100 +10% 15%
Weight Weight 55 +1.1 +4%
Melee Damage Melee Damage 1 / 5 +0.05 / +0.25 +1.7% 9.1% 17.6%
Movement Speed Movement Speed 100% N/A +1% 36.5%
Torpidity Torpidity 120 +7.2 N/A 0.5
Movement
[u/s]
Base Speed Sprinting Speed Stamina
Wild Tamed1 Tamed2 Wild Tamed1 Tamed2
Walking 75 ? ? 97.5 97.5 133.0875 6
Swimming 330 ? ? ? ? ? ?
Flying 600 ? ? 780 780 1064.7 0.275
  • 1These are the base speeds of the creature at 100% Movement Speed.
  • 2These are the speeds of the creature tamed and non-imprinted.
  • For a comparison of the speeds of all creatures, see Base Creature Speeds.
Attack Values
Grab Stamina Cost Attack Range Description
Base Minimum Activation
0 250 0 0
Attack Type Damage Projectile Values Torpor Values Status Effect: Stamina Status Effect: Torpidity
Life Impulse Radius Base Mult Duration Damage Mult Amount Duration Damage Mult Amount
Melee 1
Bite Stamina Cost Attack Range Description
Base Minimum Activation
0 250 0 0
Attack Type Damage Projectile Values Torpor Values Status Effect: Stamina Status Effect: Torpidity
Life Impulse Radius Base Mult Duration Damage Mult Amount Duration Damage Mult Amount
Melee 5
Steal Stamina Cost Attack Range Description
Base Minimum Activation
0 250 0 0
Attack Type Damage Projectile Values Torpor Values Status Effect: Stamina Status Effect: Torpidity
Life Impulse Radius Base Mult Duration Damage Mult Amount Duration Damage Mult Amount
Melee 10
Chew Stamina Cost Attack Range Description
Base Minimum Activation
0 0 0 0
Attack Dive Stamina Cost Attack Range Description
Base Minimum Activation
0 1500 500 0
Wild Dive Stamina Cost Attack Range Description
Base Minimum Activation
0 1500 600 0

Wild Stats Level-up

Type in values of a wild creature to see on which stats it's emphasized. Green values on a high-level creature are very good for breeding. If you have already tamed your creature you can try to recover the breeding stats with an external tool.[1]

Ichthyornis

The stat-calculator does not work in the mobile-view, see here for alternatives: Apps

Note that after the creature is tamed it gets bonuses on some stats depending on the taming effectiveness. This makes it hard to retrieve the levels on a tamed creature, so this tool is only for wild ones, but gives a first impression, how well the stats are distributed.

Taming[]

For general info about domesticating a wild creature see Taming.

KO Strategy[]

The best way to knock them out is using a bola and Tranqs, depending on the level. Keep in mind they are weak and it is extremely easy to accidentally kill them; it is not recommended to hit them on the head. If the bola wears off before it is knocked out, follow the ichthyornis and it will usually fly to the ground within a few seconds, indicating it is unconscious. Ichthyornis are often found flying around ponds and oceans, rarely appearing on the ground, which can make knocking it unconscious difficult. They can be "forced" to land by killing off all the fish in it's vicinity, which makes hitting them with a bola much easier. If this doesn’t work, they tend to fly in circles a few times before flying off. If one has enough practice and lead time (and the bird is over land), they can be fairly easy to knock out of the sky.

A more resource intensive method to knock one involves creating a trap using a raft, with three floors high and three double doors to act as a "dinosaur gateway" and with you acting as bait on the doors, you can make it go inside. This is useful for those who are on high latencies and cannot manage to land shots.

Taming Food[]

Ichthyornis Level 1 Narcoberry Narcotic Bio Toxin Time
Regular Kibble Regular Kibble 2 0 0 0 0:05:20
Raw Prime Fish Meat Raw Prime Fish Meat 8 8 2 1 0:10:01
Cooked Prime Fish Meat Cooked Prime Fish Meat 16 30 6 3 0:20:33
Raw Fish Meat Raw Fish Meat 23 48 10 5 0:28:46
Cooked Fish Meat Cooked Fish Meat 46 48 10 5 0:28:46
KO: Wooden Club Hits × 12; Slingshot Hits × 5; Tranquilizer Arrows with a Bow × 2; Tranquilizer Arrows with a Crossbow × 1; Tranquilizer Dart Shots × 1; Shocking Tranquilizer Dart Shots × 1
Torpidity-depletion: 0.3 / s, Time until all torpidity is depleted: 00:06:40
Ichthyornis Level 30 Narcoberry Narcotic Bio Toxin Time
Regular Kibble Regular Kibble 3 0 0 0 0:08:00
Raw Prime Fish Meat Raw Prime Fish Meat 18 39 8 4 0:22:31
Cooked Prime Fish Meat Cooked Prime Fish Meat 36 118 24 12 0:46:15
Raw Fish Meat Raw Fish Meat 54 188 39 20 1:07:31
Cooked Fish Meat Cooked Fish Meat 108 188 39 20 1:07:31
KO: Wooden Club Hits × 33; Slingshot Hits × 14; Tranquilizer Arrows with a Bow × 4; Tranquilizer Arrows with a Crossbow × 3; Tranquilizer Dart Shots × 2; Shocking Tranquilizer Dart Shots × 1
Torpidity-depletion: 0.5 / s, Time until all torpidity is depleted: 00:10:59
Ichthyornis Level 60 Narcoberry Narcotic Bio Toxin Time
Regular Kibble Regular Kibble 5 0 0 0 0:13:20
Raw Prime Fish Meat Raw Prime Fish Meat 29 93 20 10 0:36:16
Cooked Prime Fish Meat Cooked Prime Fish Meat 58 250 53 27 1:14:30
Raw Fish Meat Raw Fish Meat 86 387 81 41 1:47:31
Cooked Fish Meat Cooked Fish Meat 172 387 81 41 1:47:31
KO: Wooden Club Hits × 55; Slingshot Hits × 23; Tranquilizer Arrows with a Bow × 7; Tranquilizer Arrows with a Crossbow × 4; Tranquilizer Dart Shots × 3; Shocking Tranquilizer Dart Shots × 2
Torpidity-depletion: 0.66 / s, Time until all torpidity is depleted: 00:13:57
Ichthyornis Level 90 Narcoberry Narcotic Bio Toxin Time
Regular Kibble Regular Kibble 6 0 0 0 0:16:00
Raw Prime Fish Meat Raw Prime Fish Meat 40 163 35 18 0:50:01
Cooked Prime Fish Meat Cooked Prime Fish Meat 79 409 88 44 1:41:28
Raw Fish Meat Raw Fish Meat 118 630 134 67 2:27:31
Cooked Fish Meat Cooked Fish Meat 235 627 134 67 2:26:53
KO: Wooden Club Hits × 77; Slingshot Hits × 32; Tranquilizer Arrows with a Bow × 9; Tranquilizer Arrows with a Crossbow × 5; Tranquilizer Dart Shots × 4; Shocking Tranquilizer Dart Shots × 2
Torpidity-depletion: 0.79 / s, Time until all torpidity is depleted: 00:16:07
Ichthyornis Level 120 Narcoberry Narcotic Bio Toxin Time
Regular Kibble Regular Kibble 8 19 5 3 0:21:19
Raw Prime Fish Meat Raw Prime Fish Meat 50 240 52 26 1:02:31
Cooked Prime Fish Meat Cooked Prime Fish Meat 100 593 129 65 2:08:26
Raw Fish Meat Raw Fish Meat 150 909 197 99 3:07:31
Cooked Fish Meat Cooked Fish Meat 299 906 196 98 3:06:53
KO: Wooden Club Hits × 98; Slingshot Hits × 40; Tranquilizer Arrows with a Bow × 11; Tranquilizer Arrows with a Crossbow × 7; Tranquilizer Dart Shots × 5; Shocking Tranquilizer Dart Shots × 3
Torpidity-depletion: 0.92 / s, Time until all torpidity is depleted: 00:17:48
Ichthyornis Level 150 Narcoberry Narcotic Bio Toxin Time
Regular Kibble Regular Kibble 10 44 10 5 0:26:39
Raw Prime Fish Meat Raw Prime Fish Meat 61 335 74 37 1:16:16
Cooked Prime Fish Meat Cooked Prime Fish Meat 121 798 176 88 2:35:25
Raw Fish Meat Raw Fish Meat 182 1220 268 134 3:47:31
Cooked Fish Meat Cooked Fish Meat 363 1217 268 134 3:46:53
KO: Wooden Club Hits × 120; Slingshot Hits × 49; Tranquilizer Arrows with a Bow × 14; Tranquilizer Arrows with a Crossbow × 8; Tranquilizer Dart Shots × 6; Shocking Tranquilizer Dart Shots × 3
Torpidity-depletion: 1.04 / s, Time until all torpidity is depleted: 00:19:12

Note that the values are for optimal cases, always bring extra supplies!
For a level-dependent count of resources needed, try an external taming calculator.


Preferred Food[]

Combat[]

This section describes how to fight against the Ichthyornis.

General[]

As this bird will be one of the first that players encounter, it is important to not attack it unless you are prepared, as they will act as a Pegomastax and steal items from the player, although they won't stop there. Perhaps the easiest way to defend against one is to Bola it when it is sweeping down to steal. From there the player can either tame it or kill it for Hide and Raw Meat. Should the player not have a Bola, then it is best to leave them alone.

NOTE: You do not need to attack it for it to aggro on you. These things are spawns of the devil.

NOTE: Not only is this hell bird aggressive, but anything it steals from you vanishes. Gone. A pegomastax you can kill to re-obtain your stolen goods. Ichthyornis will devour your stolen items (minus equipped weapons, which are knocked onto the ground), forcing them to disappear into the void. Typically, items on your hotbar are vaporized first ( your "0" slot item as a very first )

NOTE: The Ichthyornis not only steals items, but may also aggro onto your own small tames, picking them up, and eating them whole without a trace.

If the player has a Pteranodon, then one could spin-attack (C, Right Stick, Right Stick) to easily get rid of the attacking Ichthyornis.

Strategy[]

While Bola Bolas can bring this flying thief down due to the bola's fall and the Bird's small size these can prove rather ineffective for this reason it is best to use weapons such as bows and aim ahead of where its circling

Weaponry[]

Bola, bows and Spears are great for an easy kill. If you want to tame it, though, a low level only needs a couple of hits with tranquilizer arrows.

Dangers[]

Like a Pegomastax, the Ichthyornis will steal items from the player. it will knock what is currently in your hand out of your hands, so you'll have to pick it back up. This includes your Bolas, Bow, etc. it might even steal items from your hot bar. In addition, all food and seeds that you have found, will be eaten by Ichthyornis.

Weakness[]

The Ichthyornis typically has very low health, even at higher levels. A simple crossbow with a couple stone arrows will get the job done, low levels can be killed with only one headshot. And it also, when it is going to attack you, it will dive towards you and at that moment is where it is most vulnerable to your Ranged Weaponry.

The Whip Whip can also prove to be effective with its ability to force flyers to land effectively stunning it with more ease compared to the Bola Bola

If wanting to merely protect your valuables it is best to store them on a shoulder mount such as a Compy Compy

Splitting stacks will make this steal steal less as it always steals stacks.

Utility[]

When told to attack or thrown at a fish, the Ichthyornis will catch, kill, and return carrying its target. Its prey's corpse will have an aura indicating that collecting from the corpse will provide a chance of harvesting Prime Fish Meat, even if it is not normally dropped by the target creature. Additionally, there are several land creatures from which it can enable collection of Prime Meat from including Dodo, Pegomastax, Lystrosaurus, Trilobite, and Compy.

Its ability to make Prime Meat available from very common and easily killed creatures makes the Ichthyornis a valuable asset for collecting food to efficiently tame carnivores.

If set to "Hunt and Retrieve" and Aggressive, an Ichthyornis will automatically "Hunt" valid targets around it, while not attacking anything else (as most other aggressive creatures would). This allows one to simply stroll the beaches with an Ichthyornis set to Follow, and be brought corpses with less micromanagement. Be careful not to lose your Ichthyornis however, as it seems to disable Following once it begins Hunting, automatically and temporarily re-enabling Follow to return a corpse. After the corpse is returned, the original Follow order is NOT re-enabled, making it easy for it to be left behind if a steady supply of targets while in render range, is not maintained.

Important note: On official PvE servers the "flyer carry" option is disabled and for some inexplicable reason the game applies this to Ichthyornis as well. It can catch fish, but not land animals.

Roles[]

  • Collector: Set the Ichthyornis to "hunt and retrieve" and tell it to attack a fish. It will return with a dead fish that can be harvested for Raw Fish Meat or a chance of Raw Prime Fish Meat. Larger fish means more meat. Similarly, on flyer-carry-enabled servers, the Ichthyornis can target Dodos, Compys, Pegomastax, and Lystrosaurus with "hunt and retrieve", the Ichthyornis will then grab the target and begin attacking it while it's in its beak. If the Ichthyornis kills a target in this manner, it will imbue the corpse with the buff, which can then be harvested for Raw Meat a chance of Raw Prime Meat.
  • Pet: the Ichthyornis can make a good pet due to the fact that it is a shoulder mount, but the pain of having to get it may be too much.
  • Backpack: Only half their weight is put on your shoulder, meaning you can carry extra weight (Level Weight).
  • Taming assistant: Ichthyornis will get a lot of prime meat for you. Will even work with Hersperornis and Otter fish.
  • Flying Pegomastax: if set to Hunt it will steal similar to regular pickpoket on Pego and Hunt and retrieve will work like quick pickpoket. Unlike the rather dangerous Pego, the Itchy will be wery weak if set to "no hunt".
  • Fisher:
  • Hunter:
  • Damage:

Collectibles[]

Resource Efficiency
Raw Prime Meat Raw Prime Meat ★★★★★
Raw Prime Fish Meat Raw Prime Fish Meat ★★★★★
Raw Fish Meat Raw Fish Meat ★★★★☆
Raw Meat Raw Meat ★★★★☆

Spotlight[]

Notes[]

For information pertaining specifically to the real-world Ichthyornis, see the relevant Wikipedia article.

  • Dossier revealed on October 19, 2015[2]
  • The line in the dossier: "...and bring that person treats (in the form of fish, of course) which its beak-grip enhances with extra healing vitamins." might be a reference to Prime Fish.
  • Ichthyornis was originally scheduled for December 2015, but was cut for unknown reasons. It was finally released for PC on March 31, 2017
  • Despite the dossier saying its Temperament is Skittish, it is actually quite Aggressive. If there are no fish around or if you get too close, it will steal and eat your food. If you have no food items, it will disarm you and simply attack.
  • Ichthyornis will never get full. It will eventually steal and eat all of your food, no matter how much you are carrying.
  • For unknown reasons, when a Ichthyornis steals and eats your Narcotics, it will not knock itself out.
  • If you have a domesticated Jerboa Jerboa, Pegomastax Pegomastax, Lystrosaurus Lystrosaurus, or Dodo Dodo nearby on land, the Ichthyornis could potentially pick them up and eat them.
  • Real Ichthyornis was a social animal that lived in flocks, while Ark's Ichthyornis can be seen together they are mostly found alone.
  • Ichthyornis could have been one of the creatures inhabited the ARK known as Aberration before it got damaged. But when the ARK became damaged some creatures were mutated to survive the harsh environment. Some creatures couldn't adapt, and Ichthyornis may have been one of the creatures that couldn't survive in the changed environment.
  • Compy Compy corpses aren't affected by gravity and can't be dragged. If an Ichthyornis "Hunts" and kills a Compy, it will force the Ichthy to drop the Compy corpse, which will hover in the air, often making it unharvestable.
  • Real Ichthyornis were no larger than pigeons or ducks, but in the game they stand nearly as tall as a fully grown adult.
  • The Ichthyornis is one of the few flying creatures that can have its Movement Speed leveled up. Others include, but are not limited to, the Dimorphodon Dimorphodon and Featherlight Featherlight.
  • In Genesis: Part 1, the Ichthyornis found in the Ocean biome are, for some reason, passive. Unlike on the other maps, they will not attempt to attack the player or tames unless it itself is attacked first. This trait also applies to ARK's other thief, the Pegomastax.
  • Their Dive Attack cannot be blocked, regardless they will always steal something.
  • Unlike other dinos, which will be auto-set to "Attacking target" itchy will be auto-set to "Aggressive"
  • The only available pose on it's dermis is a dead itchyornis which means that it's annoyance is intended
    • It's also a bit ironic that they used to eat Kibble (Pegomastax Egg)

Changelog[]

Patch Changes
256.0 Ichthyornis Ichthyornis is added to the game
256.3
  • Ichthyornis no longer gets stuck in the corners of underwater bases
  • Removed ability to steal Kibble Kibble from a creature's inventory
259.0
  • Wild Ichthyornis Health Health reduced by 50%
  • Added HUD message when an Ichthyornis either steals from you or makes you drop a weapon
  • Increased SFX distance for Ichthyornis
261.0
  • Reduced Ichthyornis targeting range against players and tames by 35%
  • No longer attacks players or tames that are underwater, just fish now
262.0 Wild Ichthyornis now has a 20 second delay on its theft attack and a 2500 unit radius for targeting a player or tame after finding them
263.0 No longer steals Skins from players
306.75 Fixed a bug where Ichthyornis' would fly to the xyz coordinates 0 0 0
309.53 No longer steals Cryopod Cryopods


Gallery[]

References[]

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