Materials:

A square piece of paper (preferably 6x6 inches or 15x15 cm)

Instructions:

1. Fold in Half Diagonally:

   Place the paper with the colored side (if using colored paper) facing up. Fold the paper in half diagonally, corner to corner, and crease well. Unfold.

2. Fold the Other Diagonal:

   Fold the paper in half diagonally the other way, from the opposite corners, and crease well. Unfold.

3. Fold in Half Horizontally:

   Now fold the paper in half horizontally (top edge to bottom edge), crease, and unfold.

4. Fold in Half Vertically:

   Fold the paper in half vertically (left edge to right edge), crease, and unfold.

5. Collapse Into a Square Base:

   Use the creases to collapse the paper into a smaller square (called a "square base"). To do this, push in the sides along the creases so that the top and bottom points come together, forming a triangle with open flaps underneath.

6. Fold the Bottom Corners:

   With the square base facing you, fold the top layer of the bottom corners upwards to the center crease, forming a kite shape.

7. Fold the Top Point Down:

   Fold the top point of the kite (the tip) down to the bottom edge, making a horizontal fold across the middle of the kite shape.

8. Open and Fold the Sides (Petal Fold):

   Lifting the top layer of the left and right edges, fold them outwards, creating two triangular flaps. Flatten the folds (this is called the "petal fold").

9. Repeat the Petal Fold on the Other Side:

   Flip the paper over and repeat the petal fold on the other side.

10. Form the Bird’s Head and Tail:

    At this point, you should have a diamond shape. Fold the top part of the diamond down to form the bird’s head. The remaining point will be the tail.

11. Fold the Wings:

    Fold each side of the diamond back out along the creases to form the wings.

12. Final Touch:

    Gently pull the two wings apart and flatten them. You can also slightly open the bottom to help the bird "stand" or make it more three-dimensional.

And you're done! You've made a simple origami bird! You can adjust the folds to refine the shape or add more details, like a small beak or wing tips, to personalize your bird.