# King Bird-of-Paradise — Facts, Threats & Conservation

*Cicinnurus regius (Scopoli, 1783) — family Paradisaeidae*

> The king bird-of-paradise (Cicinnurus regius) is the smallest of the roughly 45 bird-of-paradise species at about 16 cm, found in the lowland forests of New Guinea and nearby islands; the crimson male displays by fanning iridescent flank plumes and hanging upside down from a branch.

**IUCN status:** Least Concern — but the family is defined by its history of plume hunting  ·  **WARN range:** New Guinea, Aru Islands and nearby offshore islands

## Quick facts
| Fact | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Length | About 16 cm excluding tail wires |
| Male plumage | Crimson above, white below, green breast band, emerald-tipped flank fans |
| Female plumage | Plain brown — no ornament |
| Display | Fanned flank plumes, wing vibration, then hanging upside down |
| Family size | Around 45 species of bird-of-paradise |
| Closest relatives | Crows and jays (Corvidae) |

## Scientific classification
- **Kingdom:** Animalia
- **Phylum:** Chordata
- **Class:** Aves
- **Order:** Passeriformes
- **Family:** Paradisaeidae
- **Genus:** Cicinnurus
- **Species:** Cicinnurus regius

## Conservation status
- **Status:** Least Concern
- **Population:** No reliable estimate exists
- **Trend:** Decreasing
- **Assessed:** 2016
- **CITES:** Appendix II
- Lowland forest is being cleared faster than montane forest across New Guinea, which puts lowland birds-of-paradise under greater pressure than their better-known mountain relatives despite currently secure listings.

## Key facts: King Bird-of-Paradise
- The king bird-of-paradise is the smallest of roughly 45 species in the family Paradisaeidae, at about 16 cm excluding the tail wires.
- Only the male is ornamented. Females are plain brown, which is typical of the family and is what makes the extreme male plumage possible.
- The male's display ends with him hanging upside down beneath his perch, flank fans spread and tail wires circling above.
- Birds-of-paradise are corvids' close relatives — the family sits near crows, jays and magpies rather than near any tropical group they resemble.
- Extreme male ornament evolves where females raise young alone and choose mates purely on display, so there is no cost to a male being conspicuous once he has mated.
- The nineteenth-century plume trade killed birds-of-paradise in enormous numbers for the European and American hat industry, and the family's protection dates from the campaigns that ended it.

## Why are birds-of-paradise so ornate?
Because the females do all the work. In most bird-of-paradise species the female builds the nest, incubates the eggs and raises the chicks without help. A male contributes nothing after mating, which frees him from every constraint that keeps other male birds inconspicuous — he does not need to avoid drawing predators to a nest, and he does not need to be a competent parent.

What remains is a single selective pressure: be chosen. Over long periods that produces runaway sexual selection, in which female preference and male ornament escalate together. The result across the family is plumes, wires, capes, iridescent breast shields and displays that involve clearing a stage on the forest floor, dancing, transforming shape or hanging upside down. New Guinea also has relatively few large predators and abundant year-round fruit, which lowers the cost of being conspicuous and of carrying ornaments that make flying harder. Isolation on separate mountain ranges then let the process run independently many times over.

## The display
A male king bird-of-paradise defends a display perch in the mid-storey and advertises with a loud call. When a female arrives he begins a fixed sequence: he raises and spreads the grey flank plumes into two fans, exposing the emerald tips so they catch the light as flat shimmering discs, then vibrates his wings and puffs the green breast band.

The finale is the part that separates him from his relatives. He swings down beneath the branch and hangs upside down by his feet, body swaying, while the two wire tail feathers with their coiled green discs circle above him. The female inspects from close range. If she is unimpressed she leaves, and he resumes calling. She will build the nest, incubate and rear the young alone.

## The plume trade
Bird-of-paradise skins reached Europe long before live birds did, and because traders removed the feet before export, early naturalists believed the birds never landed — hence the genus name Paradisaea and the persistent legend that they lived permanently in the air. The name of one species, apoda, still means 'footless'.

The damage came later. Through the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries the fashion for feathered hats consumed bird-of-paradise plumes on an industrial scale, and tens of thousands of skins a year passed through the London and Paris markets. Populations of the most sought-after species were seriously depleted. The trade was ended by legislation driven by early conservation campaigners — the same movement that produced the first bird protection laws in Britain and the United States. Birds-of-paradise are now protected across their range, with traditional use by Papuan communities, for whom the plumes carry long-standing ceremonial significance, treated separately from commercial export.

## How is it doing now?
The king bird-of-paradise is listed as Least Concern. It is widespread in the lowland and hill forests of New Guinea and adjacent islands, tolerates some forest disturbance better than several of its relatives, and is not currently a major target of hunting.

The pressure it faces is the one affecting the whole region: lowland forest conversion. Oil palm, logging concessions and mining have expanded across exactly the altitude band this species occupies, and lowland forest is being lost faster than montane forest across New Guinea. Species that live low are therefore more exposed than the more famous montane birds-of-paradise, even where their numbers currently look secure. As with the grey cuscus, a Least Concern listing here describes range rather than trajectory.

## What WARN does
WARN publishes free, sourced species education. Birds-of-paradise are among the most photographed birds on Earth and among the least explained — the reason they look the way they do is a specific, well-understood consequence of females raising young alone, and that is more interesting than any photograph of the plumage.

If this guide helps you understand wildlife and the pressures it faces, a gift to WARN supports habitat protection and free public education in our partner countries.

## Frequently asked questions: King Bird-of-Paradise
### How big is the king bird-of-paradise?
About 16 cm long excluding the tail wires, making it the smallest of the roughly 45 bird-of-paradise species. It is smaller than a starling, which surprises people who know the family from photographs.

### Why do birds-of-paradise have such elaborate feathers?
Because females raise the young alone and choose mates purely on display. With no parenting role, males face no penalty for being conspicuous, so female preference and male ornament escalate together over time — a process called runaway sexual selection.

### How does the king bird-of-paradise display?
He calls from a chosen perch, spreads his grey flank plumes into two fans so their emerald tips catch the light, vibrates his wings, and then swings beneath the branch to hang upside down with his wire-like tail feathers circling above him.

### What are birds-of-paradise related to?
Crows. The family Paradisaeidae sits close to the corvids — crows, ravens, jays and magpies — rather than to any tropical family they superficially resemble.

### Why were birds-of-paradise almost wiped out?
The plume trade. Through the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, tens of thousands of skins a year were exported for the feathered hat industry. Populations of the most sought-after species were badly depleted before campaigning ended the trade.

### What do king bird-of-paradises eat?
King Bird-of-Paradises eat 2 — Wire-like tail feathers ending in coiled emerald discs. The king bird-of-paradise (Cicinnurus regius) is the smallest of the roughly 45 bird-of-paradise species at about 16 cm, found in the lowland forests of New Guinea and nearby islands; the crimson male displays by fanning iridescent flank plumes and hanging upside down from a branch.

### Where do king bird-of-paradises live?
King Bird-of-Paradises live in New Guinea, Aru Islands and nearby offshore islands. The king bird-of-paradise (Cicinnurus regius) is the smallest of the roughly 45 bird-of-paradise species at about 16 cm, found in the lowland forests of New Guinea and nearby islands; the crimson male displays by fanning iridescent flank plumes and hanging upside down from a branch.

### Are king bird-of-paradises dangerous?
King Bird-of-Paradises are not generally dangerous to people. The king bird-of-paradise (Cicinnurus regius) is the smallest of the roughly 45 bird-of-paradise species at about 16 cm, found in the lowland forests of New Guinea and nearby islands; the crimson male displays by fanning iridescent flank plumes and hanging upside down from a branch. Give wild individuals space and do not corner or handle them.

### How long do king bird-of-paradises live?
King Bird-of-Paradises typically live Crimson above, white below, green breast band, emerald-tipped flank fans. The king bird-of-paradise (Cicinnurus regius) is the smallest of the roughly 45 bird-of-paradise species at about 16 cm, found in the lowland forests of New Guinea and nearby islands; the crimson male displays by fanning iridescent flank plumes and hanging upside down from a branch. Wild and captive figures can differ; use the sources listed on the guide for the underlying studies.

## Sources
- [IUCN Red List — Cicinnurus regius](https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/22706241/94057955)
- [Cornell Lab of Ornithology — Birds-of-Paradise Project](https://www.birdsofparadiseproject.org/)
- [CITES Appendices](https://cites.org/eng/app/appendices.php)

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Full guide: https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/king-bird-of-paradise