The Rainbow Lorikeet is a species of parrot found in Australia — unmistakable with its bright red beak and colourful plumage. Gabriel Thomson has built this fantastic LEGO rendition, complete with a tree branch to perch upon, and a little avian friend, a Superb Wren. I love the bright blue plumage of the Wren, a display of colour designed to attract the ladies in real life. Both birds have been well-shaped to give an accurate, natural appearance — no mean feat with plastic bricks instead of feathers.
If you want to see this model ‘in the brick’, it is on display in LEGO House — the new LEGO experience over in Billund, Denmark.
Tag Archives: Birds
Over the fields an eerie sound, as we hear the black birds cry
Crows are often attributed ominous and intimidating characteristics, but interestingly enough, this one by John Cheng would have none of that. While the head seems a bit large, the beak leaves no question as to what bird this build represents. John uses just enough specialized parts to give a clever build, while still incorporating lots of more traditional slopes. For a seemingly simple creation, the builder has achieved plenty of character and realism.
The chirping of the birds, announcing spring
I am not sure whether Geneva Durandlives in the southern hemisphere or not, but spring is starting for some people out there and this creation of a mother bird feeding its baby definitely captures the feelings of the season.
Geneva says the bird is some sort of lark, but she could not get the colours of the feathers accurate enough. There are some interesting part usages in the baby bird, but even more so the elephant tail/trunk pieces used as the nest (a requirement for the ABS building contest, for which this creation was built). I have mixed feelings about the tree though. On one hand, the leaves are, understandably, not perfect and the textures may be a bit too intense. On the other hand though, the very idea of building a segment of a tree in 1:1 scale and the complex shaping and angles involved are very impressive.
A LEGO scarlet macaw is within your clutch [Instructions]
Although the scarlet macaw is native to the humid evergreen forests of tropical South America, you may wish to take this opportunity to have your own as a desktop pet. There are definite advantages to owning the LEGO version designed by British builder Alan Mann; it will be a low maintenance and looks pretty without requiring too much grooming or feeding.
Alan has also provided an opportunity to enjoy the scarlet macaw in its natural habitat. The wild, open space of the forest is a much better place to see a real macaw, but your LEGO macaw will regress into a statue-like state and refuse to fly if released into the wild.
The coolest California condor I’ve ever seen
Living in southern California, I hear a lot about the California condor during my frequent visits to the San Diego Zoo and Safari Park. And rightly so, because in 1987 condors went extinct in the wild, with only twenty-two individuals remaining in captivity. With the help of the LA Zoo, these three institutions bred the condors in captivity and reintroduced them into the wild. Now their combined population is over 440. Aaron Newman has built a deceptively small version of the condor in LEGO bricks, and the result is wonderful.
The model makes perfect usage of the minifig fan piece, the seed part for the current round of the ABS Builder Challenge, along with many other assorted spike parts, and minifigure katanas.
Sweet, sweet nectar of the gods
Break out the red sugar water, because Forlorn Empire built the perfect bird feeder to attract every LEGO hummingbird in your neighborhood straight to your backyard! Not only does this tiny hanging feeder look just like the real thing, but it’s packed full of some incredible NPU including minifig components (hands and arms), buckets, and the perfect fake plastic yellow “flower” to show the birdos where to sip while they hover.
An exotic bird of a heavenly blue colour
There seems to be a persisting presence of bird builds in the LEGO community, more so than other animals. Now Paul Lee joins the fun with his recreation of a Hyacinth Macaw. It is one of my favourite kinds of parrots personally, but I never expected it to be the bird of choice for nearly anyone else. While the legs are simplistic (still realistic), the facial detail and feather texture more than make up for it.
It’s time to flamenco with a flamingo
The word flamingo actually comes from the Spanish word flamenco, which came from the earlier Latin word flamma, meaning flame or fire. The name seems all the more apt for this LEGO Flamingo created by BrickBro given that it’s actually built from red bricks rather than pink. The posing of this bird is perfect, with one foot characteristically tucked up whilst the other wades through the shallow water. I love the dual purpose of the clear dish, which firstly holds the bird in a standing position, but also depicts a ripple in the water. Those stick legs look just as fragile as an actual flamingo’s legs.
This shapely bird has some clever, albeit illegal, techniques in the neck area, where the builder has used a short length of tubing to attach the tiles bottom-to-bottom. The model is built only from LEGO parts however, and stands surprisingly steady on that one little stick leg.
Life-size Blue and Gold Macaw in LEGO
Macaws are stunning birds, and smart to boot. I’ve heard plenty of great stories from those who get the chance to interact with them regularly. Felix Jaensch has posted this beautiful sculpture that captures the bird perfectly.
The curve of the beak is spot on, and the face sculpting is excellent.
This bird shoe fits the bill
This angry-looking bird isn’t the star of a mobile game or summer movie, but is actually an ingenious interpretation of one of nature’s bigger-billed birds, the African-native shoebill. The real bird stands a remarkable 4 feet tall with an enormous bill for catching fish. Builder Moko has done a great job using the shin guards from the large General Grievous figure to portray the bill, but my favorite part is the expressive eyes. Be sure to check out Moko’s blog for a cool breakdown of the construction techniques employed.
Quick! Hide your chrome LEGO pieces from this curious magpie!
Birds have already become an independent genre of brick-built sculptures. And whether they’re redoubtable birds of prey or it’s a sly magpie — as built by Felix Jaensch here — they all look fascinating and wonderfully realistic.
The title picture of the model barely reveals its main peculiarity. Besides an astonishing, instantly recognizable shape for the bird, its color scheme is much more interesting than one may think. Dark green and dark blue pieces, which are clearly visible from another angle, create the same play of colors as real feathers.
Carrion spotted, on final landing approach
Australian builder Shannon Sproule has created a LEGO model of one of the seemingly less graceful birds of prey – the vulture. Shannon says he based this build on the griffon vulture, and with an average wing span of 2.5m (8 ft) in real life, these birds are impressive creatures.
The position of the outstretched feet, ducked head and ‘flaps down’ wing position has really captured the body positioning of a typical griffon vulture landing. While the vulture appears to be coming in to land near some carrion, the birds-eye view spares us from the sight of a decaying animal… just use your imagination.
