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How to fold an origami kookaburra

Fold a diamond in half and fold the front layer's belly and throat up so the white side makes a pale chest. Round the belly, crimp the tail down, and a neck pleat bows the head forward so the bird sits up.

You need: A brown 15 cm square, white on the back; a grey strip 3.75 × 15 cm for the branch; glue and a dark marker. Hard, 12 steps, about 20 minutes.

Steps

  1. Fold in half. Brown 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. Pale belly. Fold the bottom point up on a level crease 5.3 cm below the top fold: the front layer up in front, so its white side shows, and the back layer behind.
  3. Pale throat. Fold the front layer's lower right edge up on a crease from the right point to a spot 3.75 cm right of the middle and 3.75 cm down. The back layer goes behind.
  4. Round the belly. Fold the two bottom corners behind on slants, about 2 cm, all layers together, so the belly is round.
  5. Tail: fold over. Fold the tail end over to the right on an upright crease 4.9 cm left of the middle, all layers together.
  6. Tail: crimp. Fold it back out on a crease from the same point on the back, slanting a little, so the long tail droops down.
  7. Pleat: fold in. Fold the head over to the left on a slanted line from the middle of the back down through the throat, all layers.
  8. Pleat: fold out. Fold it back to the right from the same point on the back, on a line that slants more. The head now bows forward.
  9. Sit it up. Turn the bird so the beak points straight ahead to the right and the long tail hangs down.
  10. Branch: new sheet. Set the bird aside. Take the grey strip 3.75 × 15 cm, white side up, lying wide.
  11. Fold the branch. Fold the bottom edge up to the top edge, so it is grey on both sides.
  12. Perch it. Glue the bird behind the branch, so the branch runs across under the pale belly and over the tail.

Ha-ha-ha!

Draw a dark stripe from the beak back through the eye, a dark top to the beak, bars across the tail and feet gripping the branch.

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