[2] The king bird-of-paradise is a common and wide-ranging species, distributed throughout lowland forests of New Guinea and western satellite islands.

The king bird-of-paradise was formally described in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae under the binomial name Paradisaea regius.

[5] It is now the only species placed in the genus Cicinnurus that was introduced in 1816 by the French ornithologist Louis Pierre Vieillot.

[12] The species is polygynous, with the promiscuous adult males displaying in isolation at exploded leks and in groups at traditional arboreal courts.

Courtship involves complex vocalizations, feather manipulations, and a variety of body posturing and movements, including hanging fully inverted and pendulum-like swinging.

The open cup nest is built into a tree cavity (unique within the family), within which two eggs are laid.

[12] The species is tentatively assessed as being in decline due to habitat loss[14] and unsustainable levels of hunting.