CICINNURUS COCCINEIFRONS, 
Rothsch. 
Jobi-Island King* Bird of Paradise. 
Cicinnurus regius, auct. (ex Ins. Jobi). 
Cicinnurus regius coccineifrons, Rothschild, Novit. Zool. iii. p. 10 (1896). 
Count Salvadori seems to have been the first ornithologist to notice that the King Bird of Paradise from 
the Island of Jobi 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 development of 
the plumage at the base of the bill, which not only seemed to be shorter, but was remarkable 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. Gnillemard 
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 Aru 
Islands, and because the feathering at the base of the bill encroaches more on the cultnen. He finds 
the characters constant in the series in the Tring Museum, from Mailu and Nieura 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 large, 
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, which approach the crimson-fronted Jobi bird, 
and are apparently intermediate between C. regius and C. coccineifrons. An example in the Wallace 
collection from “New Guinea,” presumably from Dorei, also agrees with the Mysol bird, rather than with 
those from Aru. 
The following is a description of the type-specimen in Mr. Rothschild’s museum : — 
Similar to C. regius , but with a smaller bill ; the frontal plumes encroaching further on the latter, and 
being entirely of a rich crimson colour, like the crown and rest of the upper parts, which are of a very dark 
tint like the throat ; the dark spot above the eyes linear in shape and not rounded. Total length 6 inches, 
culmen 06, wing 4, tail 1'4, longest feathers 6, tarsus L05. 
It has been considered unnecessary to give a separate figure of this race. 
