Parrots Made Out of Recyclables

Capture the color and unique body shape of a parrot.

One man's junk can become a child's treasure. Save the treasures from the garbage and transform them into a colorful parrot. Whether decorating for a tropical-themed party or crafting with a child, you can take things you likely have laying around to make a beautiful parrot. A craft of recyclables is not only economical; it teaches a child to think in innovative ways to reuse materials rather than tossing valuable goods into the landfill.

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Body
- Don't throw away that carton of milk, reuse it as a parrot's body.
  
  A parrot's body is long and thin. Wash and dry a half-gallon cardboard carton of milk. An old tennis ball that has lost its bounce makes an excellent head for your parrot. Use a razor blade to cut a slit in the ball. Gather the end of an empty paper towel tube to squeeze into the slit. Slide the bottom of the tube inside the milk carton. Secure the tube with glue. If you don't have a milk carton available, a plastic soda bottle can also be used to make the parrot's body. Paint the entire bottle in acrylic paint to create a surface for the feathers to adhere to. Squeeze the tip of the bottle into the slit in the old tennis ball to affix the head to the parrot's body,
Feathers
- Cut paper feathers from magazine pages and juice pouches.
  
  The feathers of nearly all species of parrots are brightly colored. According to Whit Gibbons of the University of Georgia, many parrots are adorned with colorful plumage to both compete for a mate and defend their young in the nest. Make the colorful feathers on your parrot by tearing out pages of magazines that are primarily one color. For example, if your parrot needs green feathers, look for pictures of grass, leaves or other primarily green images. Cut these pages into 2-by-1/2-inch sections. Glue the top half of each paper tab to the parrot's body beginning at the bottom of the parrot. Cover the entire body in layers of colorful paper tab feathers. For a little extra shimmer, cut and glue tabs out of foil juice pouches.
Beak
- Trim the cork from a wine bottle for your parrot's beak.
  
  A parrot's beak is triangular in shape and curved downward in order to crack nuts and seeds. A cone-shaped paper cup makes an excellent parrot beak. Cut the bottom 2 inches of the cup for the beak. Color the beak yellow. Glue the beak to the parrot's head by folding the top half inch down. Glue this tab to the parrot's head. Curve the beak downward. If you do not have cone-shaped cups available, trim a wine bottle cork into a triangle with a knife. Glue the cork beak to your parrot's head.
Talons
- Twisty ties make flexible talons.
  
  Talons on parrots are brightly colored and allow the parrot to perch on branches of various sizes and shapes. Poke six small holes in your parrot's body with a tiny nail. Three holes must be on the bottom-left side of the body and three on the bottom-right side of the body. Push one twisty tie into each hole. Two inches should remain outside of the body. Curve these talons downward. If you wish, perch the parrot by wrapping its talons on a small stick or dowel.