After graduating from Santa Clara High School, King served in the U.S. Army from 1945 to 1946. He then matriculated at San Jose State College, where he graduated in 1950[3] with a B.A. in biological and physical sciences. King became a graduate student at Washington State College, where he graduated in zoology with an M.A. in 1953 and a Ph.D. in 1957. His doctoral thesis, supervised by Donald S. Farner, dealt with "premigratory adiposity in the White-crowned Sparrow".[1] From 1957 to 1960 King was an assistant professor in experimental biology at the University of Utah.[4] In the zoology department Washington State University, he was from 1960 to 1962 an assistant professor, from 1962 to 1967 an associate professor, and from 1967 until his death a full professor. He was the chair of the department from 1972 to 1978.[1]
King was the editor-in-chief of The Condor from 1965 to 1968 and, for the last 20 years of his life, was the co-editor, with Donald S. Farner, of the multi-volume series Avian Biology.[4][5] Washington State University's Department of Zoology annually awards a James R. King Memorial Fellowship for graduate students.[4]
He married Eleanor Porter (1928–2006)[4] in 1950. Upon his death he was survived by his widow, a son, two daughters, and a granddaughter.[3]
Farner, Donald S.; Mewaldt, L. R.; King, James R. (1954). "The diurnal activity patterns of caged migratory white-crowned sparrows in late winter and spring". Journal of Comparative and Physiological Psychology. 47 (2): 148–153. doi:10.1037/h0057401. PMID13152231.
King, J. R.; Farner, D. S. (1956). "Bioenergetic Basis of Light-induced Fat Deposition in the White-crowned Sparrow". Experimental Biology and Medicine. 93 (2): 354–359. doi:10.3181/00379727-93-22755. PMID13379510. S2CID35714571.
King, James R.; Farner, Donald S. (1959). "Premigratory Changes in Body Weight and Fat in Wild and Captive Male White-Crowned Sparrows". The Condor. 61 (5): 315–324. doi:10.2307/1365124. JSTOR1365124.
Matsuo, Shinichi; Vitums, Arturs; King, James R.; Farner, Donald S. (1969). "Light-microscope studies of the cytology of the adenohypophysis of the white-crowned sparrow, Zonotrichia leucophrys gambelii". Zeitschrift für Zellforschung und Mikroskopische Anatomie. 95 (1): 143–176. doi:10.1007/BF00319274. PMID4183639. S2CID20241498. 1969
King, James R. (2010). "Variation in the Song of the Rufous-Collared Sparrow, Zonotrichia capensis, in Northwestern Argentina". Zeitschrift für Tierpsychologie. 30 (4): 344–373. doi:10.1111/j.1439-0310.1972.tb00863.x. 1972
Kern, Michael D.; De Graw, William A.; King, James R. (1972). "Effects of gonadal hormones on the blood composition of white-crowned sparrows". General and Comparative Endocrinology. 18 (1): 43–53. doi:10.1016/0016-6480(72)90078-0. PMID5009677.
Kern, Michael D.; King, James R. (1972). "Testosterone-Induced Singing in Female White-Crowned Sparrows". The Condor. 74 (2): 204–209. doi:10.2307/1366289. JSTOR1366289.
Webb, D.R.; King, J.R. (1983). "Heat-transfer relations of avian nestlings". Journal of Thermal Biology. 8 (4): 301–310. doi:10.1016/0306-4565(83)90013-X.
Murphy, Mary E.; King, James R. (1986). "Composition and Quantity of Feather Sheaths Produced by White-Crowned Sparrows during the Postnuptial Molt". The Auk. 103 (4): 822–825. JSTOR4087197.
Webster, Marcus D.; King, James R. (1987). "Temperature and humidity dynamics of cutaneous and respiratory evaporation in pigeons, Columba livia". Journal of Comparative Physiology B. 157 (2): 253–260. doi:10.1007/BF00692370. PMID3571575. S2CID19375343.
Murphy, Mary E.; King, James R. (1992). "Energy and Nutrient Use during Moult by White-Crowned Sparrows Zonotrichia leucophrys gambelii". Ornis Scandinavica (Scandinavian Journal of Ornithology). 23 (3): 304–313. doi:10.2307/3676654. JSTOR3676654.