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CICINNURUS COCCINEIFRONS, Ronee
Jobi-Island King Bird of Par

adise,

Cicinnurus regius, auct. (ex Ins. Jobi).
Cicinnurus regius coccineifrons, Rothschild, Novit. Zool. iii. p. 10 (1896)

 

 

 

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Count SALy SOE seems to have been the first ornithologist to notice that the King Bird of Paradise from
the Island of opt differed somewhat from the true C, regius of the Aru Islands and New Guinea, the
differences consisting in the brighter red colour of the upper parts, and in the fuller d

evelopment of
the plumage at the base of the bill, which not only seemed to be shorter, but was re

markable for the way
in which the feathering extended forward over the base. He also noticed a further difference in the
colour of the light edging which separates the red colour of the neck from the green pectoral band, which
was slightly greyish in some, but not in all, of the Jobi specimens. Dr. A. B. Meyer and Dr. Guillemard
have also observed certain differences in the Jobi birds; but the Hon. Walter Rothschild states that
the size of the supra-ocular spot and the violet tinge on the throat vary with individuals, and are
therefore of no consequence.

Mr. Rothschild, however, separates the Jobi bird on account of its having the forehead of the same
crimson colour as the rest of the upper parts, instead of being yellow as in the birds from the Ara
Islands, and because the feathering at the base of the bill encroaches more on the culmen. He finds
the characters constant in the series in the Tring Museum, from Mailu and Nicura in British New
Guinea, Simbang and Constantine Harbour in German New Guinea, from Arfak, Salwatti, Mysol, and
the Aru Islands.

The yellow-fronted bird is undoubtedly the true Cicinnurus regius of Linnaeus, founded as this name is on
Edwards’s figure; and therefore the crimson-fronted bird requires separation, though Mr. Rothschild
considers the Jobi form to be worthy of sub-specific rank only.

I find from an examination of the series in the British Museum that there is considerable variation with
respect to the amount of crimson tint on the frontal plumes, as well as in the extent of the feathering over
the base of the bill and the shape of the supra-ocular spot. The form of the latter seems to me to be
dependent in great measure on the preparation of the skin. All the birds from the Aru Islands are are:
and have the forehead inclining to orange-yellow ; but this colour is less marked in a specimen from the
Fly River and is still less marked in others from Mysol,
and are apparently intermediate between C. regius and C. COCCINENTONS.
collection from “ New Guinea,” presumably from Dorei, also agrees with the Mysol bird, rathe
those from Aru.

The following is a description of the type-specimen in Mr. Rothschild’s

Similar to C. regius, but with a smaller bill; the frontal plumes encroac
upper pa

which approach the crimson-fronted Jobi bird,
An example in the Wallace
r than with

museum :—
hing further on the latter, and
rts, which are of a very dark

being entirely of a rich crimson colour, like the cr and rest of the
a rich crimson colour, like the crown and res er !
! Total length 6 inches,

tint like the throat ; the dark spot above the eyes linear in shape and not rounded.
culmen 0:6, wing 4, tail 1°4, longest feathers 6, tarsus 1:00.
It has been considered unnecessary to give a separate figure of this race.

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