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How to fold an origami kingfisher

A thin strip cut free along the back tapers into a long dagger beak, and a tapered pleat at the neck bows the head forward. Orange chest, spotted wing, twig and water are glued on.

You need: A bright blue 15 cm square, white on the back; orange 7 × 5 cm; dark blue 8 × 3 cm; a brown strip; a pale blue strip; scissors, glue, pens. Hard, 12 steps, about 35 minutes.

Steps

  1. Fold in half. Blue square, white side up, turned like a diamond. Fold the top corner down to the bottom corner. The long fold on top is the back.
  2. Crease a strip. Fold the top edge down 1 cm along its whole length, through all the layers, and crease it hard.
  3. Open it. Unfold the strip again. You will cut along its crease to free the beak.
  4. Cut the bird. Cut along the crease from the right edge to 3.8 cm right of the middle. Cut the strip to a long thin point. Round the head, chest and belly; cut the tail square.
  5. Pleat: fold in. Fold the head over to the left on a slanted line from the back, 7 mm right of the middle, down through the throat.
  6. Pleat: fold out. Fold them back to the right from the same point on the back, on a line that slants more. The head now bows forward.
  7. Sit it up. Turn the bird so the beak points straight ahead to the right and the tail points down.
  8. Chest: new sheet. Set the bird aside. Take the orange piece, orange side up, and cut it to the shape of the chest: round along the belly, straight along the back.
  9. Wing: new sheet. Set the chest aside. Cut the dark blue piece into a long wing, rounded at the shoulder and pointed at the tail end.
  10. Twig: new sheet. Set the wing aside. Take a brown strip 13.5 × 0.7 cm for the twig.
  11. Water: new sheet. Set the twig aside. Take a pale blue strip 15 × 1.5 cm for the water.
  12. Glue it together. Glue the bird above the water, the orange chest on its front and the wing along its back. Glue the twig across under the belly, over the tail.

Splash, kingfisher!

Colour the beak black. Draw a round eye and dot pale spots on the wing. Colour the throat white, draw the feet and add ripples on the water.

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