The King Bird of Paradise (Cicinnurus regius) is a small and colorful bird of the Paradisaeidae (Bird of Paradise) family. Its bright and vivid colors make it a living gem.
Males of the species are easily recognized by their bright red coloration and two long tail-feather shafts that end in a bright green roundel of feathers. The belly is white, with a green stripe on the chest.
The black spots above the eyes make the bird even more striking. Females are much less bright, with an olive brown and their chest a variegated buff.
The Kingbird of Paradise is endemic and relatively common in Papua New Guinea and many of the country’s western islands. It prefers to inhabit lowland rainforests, gallery forests, forest edges, as well as disturbed and tall secondary forests. Its diet consists mainly of fruits and arthropods.
Kingbirds of paradise are polygamous, which means they will mate with a second female after mating with the first female. The male begins the courtship ritual by sitting upright on a branch, flapping his wings, then holding his body parallel to the branch.
Then he will spread his breast feathers and raise his tail above his head while dancing. It then swings its tail and then its body to one side and finally hangs upside down on a branch and swings like a pendulum by folding its wings.
Meet the king bird-of-paradise. Its bright and vivid colors make it a living gem.
It can be found throughout Papua New Guinea and many of the country’s western islands
The female builds an open cup-shaped nest in a tree cavity and then lays two eggs and incubates them. Incubation takes 17 days, and after they hatch, she will take care of the chicks herself.
The Kingbird of Paradise is widespread throughout its range, but there are no population estimates yet. It is currently classified as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List, and its numbers are relatively stable.
King birds of paradise are polygynous, which means that they will go to another female after mating with the first one.
There is little information available about this species’ behavior.
They are obscure and can be difficult to find. Birds of paradise are solitary birds and come together only to mate. Typically, the bird of paradise lives 5-8 years in the wild and up to 30 years in captivity.
The interesting thing about their colors is that it takes years for them to become so bright and vibrant. Many have been sent to zoos with what were believed to be female birds of paradise, only to find out years later that they were actually males.
Birds of paradise tend to be solitary birds and only come together to mate
A bird of paradise lives 5-8 years in the wild and up to 30 years in captivity.
The colors take time to become so bright and vibrant.
It is the smallest and most vividly colored among birds of paradise. It can grow up to approximately 6.3–7.5 long.
Besides being colorful, they are also very loud
Watch and hear them on video:
These birds can make noise. They use different sounds for different species to establish their territory, advise a potential mate of their location, or sound an alarm. They will also communicate by flapping their wings or flapping their bills.
H/T:OneBirdCage
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