How to Do a Flapping Bird

A paper flapping bird was thought to be a work of magic.

Fold a square piece of paper to create a flapping bird, similar to the origami peace crane, for a fun and rewarding activity. Create dozens of birds with friends to make a flock or work alone, and allow the folding process to calm your mind. Display the flapping bird throughout your house or give them as gifts to promote feelings of well-being. Origami is the Japanese word for "folding paper," although the meaning and origin of the flapping bird is unclear.

Things You'll Need

• Square piece of paper
• Pencil

Instructions

1. Fold a square piece of paper in half. Open it up, turn it clockwise one time, and fold it in half again. Open it and see a plus-sign shape creased into your paper.

2. Create a triangle by folding the square diagonally and matching two corners together. Open it and fold the other two corners together. If you opened the paper again, the creases form the shape of an asterisk.

3. Hold the triangular-shaped paper in front of you with its point facing down. Pinch this point with your left hand as you use your right hand to open the the right side of the triangle. Take the far right corner of the triangle and pull it in so you can pinch it with the other paper in your left hand. Crease the sides to create a smaller triangle that points out toward the right. Repeat this process on the left side of the paper to create a small diamond shape.

4. Notice the diamond has a point at the top which doesn't open, and its sides both have two flaps. The center of the diamond is creased down the middle. Fold one of the right flaps to line up with this center crease. Fold the left flap the same way. Turn the diamond over and fold the right and left flaps in to line up with the center crease in the same manner. You now have a shape that resembles a kite with a horizontal fold across the top half.

5. Open the kite shape back up to a diamond. Pinch the bottom of the diamond with your left hand as you pull the right corner in and tuck it under itself and against the direct center of the diamond. Crease the folds. Repeat the process with the left side, then turn the paper over and repeat with both sides. You now have the kite shape without any horizontal folds on the outside.

6. Notice the top half of the kite is closed, while the bottom contains two flaps. Fold the flaps up over the top point to meet each other. You now have a diamond shape with two "legs" at the bottom.

7. Draw one line to create an isosceles triangle at the top of each "leg," with the middle crease of the diamond acting as one side. The base of the triangle is on the outer part of the "leg." Open the side of each leg and fold it into itself along the line you drew. You'll end up with a "W" shape, forming the tail, wings and neck of the bird.

8. Draw a line to form a triangle at the bird's "head." Open the top of the bird's "neck" and fold the paper in on itself along this line, then fold again right down the middle of the bird's "forehead." The head will end up as a triangular shape attached to the neck, appearing to look down.

9. Drawn a line across the bottom of each of the bird's wings to create an isosceles triangle, with the base of the wing acting as one side of the triangle and the front of the wing, closest to the bird's head, acting as the shorter base. Fold the wings down along these lines. Pull the tail to watch them flap.

References

• Origami.org.uk: How to Make a Flapping Bird
• Origami-Instructions.com: Origami Flapping Bird
• StormtheCastle.com: The History of Origami