A traditional bird more than a hundred years old, folded from the fish base. Old books call it a partridge, a pheasant or a dove. The neck and head are made with inside reverse folds.
Why this level: Collapsing the fish base and the two inside reverse folds for the neck and the head take some care.
You need: 1 sheet of origami paper
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This bird has changed its name many times. A Japanese handicraft book of 1904 calls it a partridge, a book of 1908 a pheasant, and a Chinese book of 1914 a dove. The name albatross comes from a book of 1951. Nobody knows who first folded it.
Did you know? A Japanese print from the Meiji era, which ended in 1912, already shows this paper bird.
White side up. Fold the bottom-left corner onto the top-right corner and unfold, then the bottom-right corner onto the top-left corner and unfold.
Starting from the top-left corner, fold the left edge to the diagonal, then the top edge. It looks like a kite.
Fold the other two edges (bottom and right) to the diagonal at the same time. The two side corners stand up like rabbit ears: lay them flat, pointing toward the first point you folded.
Turn the paper so the long points are left and right. The two ears point to the right.
Fold both ears over to the left along the vertical line joining the top and bottom corners.
Fold the bottom half behind along the horizontal middle line (mountain fold). You get a long triangle.
Push the right point up between the front and back layers along a slanted line (inside reverse fold). The neck stands up, leaning forward.
Inside reverse fold the tip of the neck forward (to the right) along a slanted line. It becomes the head and the beak.
Stand it on its belly and your albatross is done! Draw the eyes.