Wildlife
Male king birds of paradise hang upside down from branches as part of their courtship display. After courting and mating with one female a male moves on to the next. Unsuccessful males, those that don't impress the females with their displays, may never mate at all. Some females appear to be less fussy, as hybrids between the king bird of paradise and the magnificent bird of paradise have been known.
Scientific name: Cicinnurus regius
Rank: Species
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Waggle dance
A lone performer, the king bird of paradise dances to attract a female.
A lone performer, the king bird of paradise dances to attract a female.
King of birds
The expedition comes across the brilliant red king bird of paradise.
Scientists from the Papua New Guinea expedition team take DNA samples from birds of paradise to help establish genetic details about the population and find out if the local birds are suffering from any diseases. The beautiful colours of the king bird of paradise are reserved purely for the male. Rich red feathers and elaborate tail wires are used to impress the drab females in a courtship and mating display.
The following habitats are found across the King bird of paradise distribution range. Find out more about these environments, what it takes to live there and what else inhabits them.
Discover what these behaviours are and how different plants and animals use them.
Additional data source: Animal Diversity Web
Least Concern
Year assessed: 2009
Classified by: IUCN 3.1
The King Bird-of-paradise, Cicinnurus regius is a small, approximately 16 cm long, passerine bird of the Paradisaeidae (Bird-of-paradise) family. The male is a crimson and white with bright blue feet and green-tipped fan-like plumes on its shoulder. The two elongated tail wires are decorated with emerald green disk feathers on its tip. The unadorned female is a brown bird with barring below.
The King Bird-of-paradise is distributed throughout lowland forests of New Guinea and nearby islands. This so-called "living gem" is the smallest and most vividly colored among birds of paradise. The diet consists mainly of fruits and arthropods.
An extraordinary display is performed by the male with a series of tail swinging, fluffing of its abdomen white feathers that makes the bird look like a cottonball, and acrobatic pendulum displays.
Widespread and a common species throughout its large habitat range, the King Bird-of-paradise is evaluated as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. It is listed on Appendix II of CITES.
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Courtship display
Adapted to flying
Egg layer
Polygynous
Sexual dimorphism
Visual communication