King of Holland's bird-of-paradise

The King of Holland's bird of paradise, also known as King William III's bird of paradise or the exquisite little king, is a bird in the family Paradisaeidae that is a hybrid between a magnificent bird of paradise and king bird of paradise.

King of Holland's bird of paradise
By John Gould
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Superfamily:	Corvoidea
Family:	Paradisaeidae
Hybrid:	Diphyllodes magnificus × Cicinnurus regius
Synonyms
Diphyllodes gulielmi III Meyer, 1875 Rhipidornis gulielmi III Diphyllodes (Rhipidornis) gulielmitertii

History

At least 26 adult male specimens of this hybrid exist in various collections, including the American Museum of Natural History and the Manchester Museum, coming mainly from north coastal New Guinea or unknown localities. It was described as a new species by Adolf Bernard Meyer in 1875 and diagnosed as a hybrid by Jacques Berlioz in 1927.

References

• Frith, Clifford B.; Beehler, Bruce M. (1998). The Birds of Paradise. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-854853-9.
• Iredale, Tom (1950). Birds of Paradise and Bower Birds. Melbourne: Georgian House.