CICINNURUS REGIUS.

King Bird of Paradise.

The supposed King of the Greater Birds of Paradise, Edwards, Birds, iii.

Le Petit Oiseau de Paradis, Briss. Orn. ii. p. 136, pl. 13 (1760).

Paradisea regia, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 166 (1766).—Forst. Ind. Zool. p- 36 (1781)
(1788).—Daud. Orman py 272, pl. 19 (1800).—Shaw, Gen. Zool. v
Voy. Coquille, 1. p, 658, pl. 26 (1826).—Wagler, Syst. Av. ara ee a
p- 323 (1847).—Schl. Handl. Dierk. i. p. 332, pl. — fig. ae Gane ey (linea om ad
—Id. Mus. Pays-Bas, Coraces, p. 88 (1867). —Id. Nederl. Tijdschr. Dierk. cae a nee bee
(1871).—Gray, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1858, p. 181, 1861, p. 436.—Id. Hand-l, Benne p- it | eee me ve =
Wallace, Ibis, 1859, p. 111.—Id. Proc. Zool. Soc. 1862, p. 160.—Id, Malay vee ise ae
Wagler, Zool. Gart. 1873, p. 10.—Rosenb. Reist. naar Geelvinkb, p. 17 (1875).—1d. Malay eae
pp- 369; 395, 557 (1679).—Musschenbr. Dagboek, pp. 192, 224 (1883).—Rosenb. Mitth. orn, Yer,
Wien, 1885, p. 39.

King Paradise-bird, Lath. Gen. Syn. i. pt. 2, p. 475 (1772).

Le Manucode, eee leeBianle Oe pl. | soe conte: Hist. Nat. Ois. iii. p. 163, pl. 13 (1775).—Audeb. & Vieill.
Ois. Dor. ii. p. 16, pl. 5 (1802).—Levaill. Hist. Nat. Ois. de Paradis, i. pls. 7, 8 (1806),

Le Roi des Oiseaua de Paradis, Sonn. Voy. Nouv. Guin. i. p. 156, pl. 95 Cia):

Paradisea rew, Scop. Del. Flor. et Faun. Insubr. ii. p. 88 (1786, ex Sonn.).

Cicinnurus spiniturniz, Less. Ois. de Parad. Syn. p. 14 (1835).—Id. Hist. Nat. Ois. de Paradis, p. 182
(1835).

Cicinnurus regius, Vieill. N. Dict. d’Hist. Nat. xix. p. 247 (1818).—Id. Gal. Ois. i. p. 146, pl. xevi. (1825).—
Lesson, Traité d’Orn. p. 338 (1831).—Bp. Consp. i. p. 413 (1850).—Wall. Ibis, 1861, p. 287.—Rosenb.
Journ. fiir Orn. 1864, p. 130.—Elliot, Monogr. Parad. pl. xvi. (1873).—Salvad. Ann. Mus. Civic. Genov.
vii. p. 783 (1875).—Id. & D’ Albert. t.c. p. 832 (1875).—Salvad. op. cit. viii. p. 402 (1876), ix. p. 192
(1876).—Gould, Birds of New Guinea, i. pl. 24 (1876).—Sharpe, Cat. Birds in Brit. Mus. iii. yeh a!
(1877).—Salvad. Ann. Mus. Civ. Genov. x. p. 152 (1877).—Id. P. Z.S. 1878, p. 98.—Ramsay, Pr. Linn.
Soc, N.S. W. ili. p. 267 (1878), iv. p. 97 (1879).—Salvad. & D’Alb. Ann. Mus. Civ. Genov. xiv. p. 112
(1879).—Eudes-Deslongchamps, Ann. Mus. d’Hist. Nat. Caen, i. p. 28 (1888).—Salvad. Orn. della
Papuasia e delle Molucche, il. p. 646 (1881).—Id. Voy. ‘Challenger,’ Birds, p. 81 (1881).—Cory,
Beautiful and Curious Birds, pt. ii. (1881 ).—Salvad. Orn. della Papuasia e delle Molucche, iii., Addenda,
p- 554 (1882).—Sharpe, Journ. Linn. Soc., Zool. xvi. p. 444 (1882).—Meyer, Zeitschr. ges. Orn. i.
p- 293 (1884).—Guillem. P. Z. S. 1885, p. 655.—Meyer, Zeitschr. ges. Orn. iii. p. 34 (1886).—d’ Hamony.
Bull. Soc. Zool. France, 1886, p. 509.—Tristr. Ibis, 1889, p. 554.—Salvad. Aggiunte Orn. della Papuasia
e delle Molucche, ii. p. 163 (1890).—Goodwin, Ibis, 1890, p. 150.

aa ee Tenn (1750).

y —Gm. Syst. Nat. i. p. 400
i. p. 497, pl. 67 (1809).—Less,

, pls. 16-18

 

Consiprrine that the present beautiful species is one of the earliest known to European travellers, and
that it was described in the very first published records of the Birds of Paradise, it is somewhat remarkable
that we know so little of its habits.

It is apparently not a rare bird in the countries which it inhabits, and it has, moreover, the
distribution of any species of the family, being found all over New Guinea, and inhabiting also the islands
[It has even been said to occur in Batanta, but
There is a certain

largest

of Salawati, Mysol, Jobi, as well as the Aru group.
Count Salvadori thinks that there may have been some mistake as to this locality. ;
amount of variation in size between specimens from different localities, and the late Mr. Gould considered
that there were at least two forms of King Bird of Paradise, recognizable not only by their different
dimensions, but more especially by the size of the spiral racket at the end of the centre tail-feathers.

atv S ay on é cure myself that these
Although some individuals are larger than others, I have not been able to assure ys ;
Salvadori recognized more than

he : 3
variations are accompanied by any difference of habitat, nor has Count . ‘
be seen in specimens Irom

one species of Cicinnurus, though he duly draws attention to the differences to
the island of Jobi, where both sexes vary somewhat from the ordinary type. cain
The best account of the finding of the present species ey its) Hative haunts: 19) ulate SIEM OY lisse
Wallace in his < Malay Archipelago,’ from which book I make the following extract - ,
“The first two or three days of our stay here were very wet, and I obtained but i ea
but at length, when I was beginning to despair, my boy Baderoon returned one day with a S}

: ir 1 ss than the Thrush.
repaid me for months of delay and expectation. It was a small bird, a little les eee.
this little bird was a gem 0 the

of the breast, and ordinarily
about two inches long and each
aised at the will of the bird,

Ss is not the only ornament.

insects or birds ;

Merely in arrangement of colours and texture of plumage,
yet these comprised only half of its strange beauty. Springing
lying concealed under the wings, were little tufts of greyish feathers ;
terminated by a broad band of intense emerald-green. These plumes can be r :
and spread out into a pair of elegant fans when the wings are elevated. But thi

from each side

a ah LWA

ISVS OSGSAOGOO<5

CSESEG

o

£8

   

SHOBOECESBOGGOOSOSOSSOSGSGOGSSGoUEGSSWTSOS’

Hes

SUS OOOO OIE GS EEG EEE OOO OIRO OO GEESE BOSS SS i

Pas

Vien

DAY, .

—

oo
DN

&

o—<——
rN

J CIV UIE

IN:

ei

FOU

A

iy
7
ZT,

4

93

\

     
 
   
 
     
  
   
 
  

;

wz?

i. ee Som om on
IRIE
de es AX

BESO Oo ROMO = &,

* ey JN 4

iyi

a

ero
fs

 
  
  
 
  
 
 
      
   
  
 
  
 
 
   
  
 
 
  
  
  
  
   

} WY
is iL

CT OO

Cyt)
es

iy.

——_ ,

of ogo somo be
cS

TINY,

i

oe 9 “J
Ry.
fi an c r~ FX

© S oka & ©,

IX

fi’

Cre

OE OEE EL EP OE ee
IK

i‘ LG Fa 4 4

. z md 7 iN i

<

UOUUK

a

IIL

Ty Cry cy

(

re
54
aN

IOC

ee oe ee pa

\S

SP
|
A,

LP te aey tye)
dN