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How to fold an origami frigatebird

A long diamond folded in half. Pleats split the tail into a fork and raise the neck, outside reverse folds turn the hooked bill, and a little red square folds into the puffed-up pouch.

You need: 1 square sheet, 15 × 15 cm, black on one side, and a 6 cm red square; glue and a white pen. Hard, 19 steps, about 25 minutes.

Steps

  1. Turn it. White side up. Turn the square so a corner points up, like a diamond.
  2. Crease the diagonal. Fold the left corner over to the right corner, crease, and unfold.
  3. Make a kite. Fold the two lower edges in to lie along the centre crease.
  4. Narrow the top. Fold the two upper edges in to the centre crease too, making a long diamond.
  5. Fold in half. Mountain-fold it in half along the centre crease, so the flaps stay on the outside.
  6. Lay it down. Turn it so the fold runs along the bottom and the point that was at the bottom is on the right.
  7. Split the tail. Snip along the bottom fold from the left tip to 4 cm behind the peak, so the two halves of the tail come apart.
  8. Fork: front half in. Front layers only: fold the left point over to the right on a crease from the bottom, 4 cm behind the peak.
  9. Fork: front half out. Fold it back from the same point on a crease a little to the right. The front half of the tail tilts up.
  10. Fork: back half in. Back layers only: fold the left point behind to the right, on a crease from the top edge 4 cm behind the peak.
  11. Fork: back half out. Fold it back behind from the same point, so the back half of the tail tilts down. The tail is forked.
  12. Neck: fold in. Fold the right point over to the left on a crease from the bottom, 5 cm in front of the peak, leaning a little right.
  13. Neck: fold out. Fold it back to the right from the same point, on a crease leaning left. The neck stands up.
  14. Head. 2.6 cm below the tip, outside-reverse-fold the tip forward and a little down: the head and a long bill.
  15. Hook the bill. Fold the last 5 mm of the bill down, through both layers, to make the hook.
  16. Sit it up. Turn the bird so the head end rises and the forked tail hangs down behind.
  17. Pouch: new sheet. Set the bird aside. Take the red square, red side up, turned like a diamond.
  18. Pouch: round it. Fold all four corners a little way behind to make a round red balloon.
  19. Glue on the pouch. Glue the balloon onto the front of the bird, just under the bill, so it bulges out over the throat.

Look at my balloon!

Draw a small white-ringed eye. Perch it on a twig and watch it show off.

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