“ ‘E’s not pinin’! ‘E’s passed on! This parrot is no more! He has ceased to be! ‘E’s expired and gone to meet ‘is maker! ‘E’s a stiff! Bereft of life, ‘e rests in peace! If you hadn’t nailed ‘im to the perch ‘e’d be pushing up the daisies! ‘Is metabolic processes are now ‘istory! ‘E’s off the twig! ‘E’s kicked the bucket, ‘e’s shuffled off ‘is mortal coil, run down the curtain and joined the bleedin’ choir invisible! THIS IS AN EX-PARROT!”
Monty Python’s Flying Circus
A Macaw is a type of parrot, so that’s close enough.
About the Origami Macaw
This is an origami parrot, so it was never alive in the first place. It’s the second origami parrot I’ve featured on this blog. The other was a fairly simple parrot design by Robert Lang. This origami Macaw parrot design is by Manual Sirgo Alvarez.
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Folding the Origami Macaw
Even though this model is taken from a book of ’21 challenging models’, it’s a low intermediate design.
Use a reasonably large piece of paper so it doesn’t get too fiddly and if you can fold a bird base, you should be able to make this model without too much difficulty. This model is actually derived from one half of a bird base, with the other half left as a preliminary base.
The designer says that any paper will do, as long as it is at least 15cm x 15xcm (6in x 6in). Personally I’d suggest avoiding origami paper for this one because the layers get quite thick in the middle. You can use it, but it won’t give the best results. I used a 20cm x 20cm sheet of blue paper I had lying around, I’m not sure what type it is.
Brightly coloured paper is best, preferably blue, green or red, and either the same colour on both sides, or different colours on each. The designer has provided variations in the instructions that make the best use of two colour paper.
It takes about 15 minutes to fold this design.
Origami Macaw Instructions
Diagrams for this model are available in Manuel Sirgo Alvarez’s book Origami Menagerie: 21 Challenging Models’. I’ve been meaning to fold something from this book for a while and haven’t got around to it. Some of the other models look a little harder to fold, but this one is not particularly challenging. You can get a copy of the book on Amazon here.
I hope you enjoy making it. Just don’t nail it to a perch.
Get Involved
I’d love to hear your views on this origami Macaw model. Feel free to let me know what you think in the comments below, or you find can me on Instagram or Twitter. Check out my Pinterest boards too!
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