King Bird of Paradise
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| Cicinnurus regius (Linnaeus, 1758) |
The King Bird of Paradise, Cicinnurus regius is a small, approximately 16cm long, passerine bird of the Paradisaeidae family. The male is a crimson and white bird of paradise 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 end. Unadorned female is a brown bird with barred 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 displays is performed by the male with a series of tail swinging, fluffing its abdomen white feathers that makes the bird looks like a cottonball and acrobatic pendulum display.
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.
[edit] References
- BirdLife International (2004). Cicinnurus regius. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 12 May 2006. Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern
