Thread White, black for the head Semperfli Nano Silk 24/0 and 12/0, Uni-Nylon 70 denier white, Uni 17/0 Trico
Materials
Silkworm gut (loop eye)
Lagartun fine oval tinsel Silver oval tinsel (tag and body rib)
Silk floss Yellow floss (tag)
Golden pheasant crest Natural pheasant tail fibers (tail and topping)
Kingfisher Blue macaw (veil)
Ostrich herl Black ostrich herl (butt, five turns)
Medium embossed tinsel Silver oval tinsel (second rib)
Silk floss Red floss (rear third of the body)
Seal's fur dubbing Red ice dub (front of the body, split thread)
Hackle, folded Red neck hackle (body hackle and collar)
Golden pheasant tippets Natural pheasant tail fibers (2, underwing)
Florican bustard and cory bustard Natural case (married wing strands)
Turkey, dyed Yellow and red turkey dyed (married wing strands, three layers)
Argus pheasant Natural pheasant tail fibers (top of the married wing)
Wood duck and teal Barred wood duck (married sides)
Hackle Yellow hackle (throat, folded)
Jungle cock Natural jungle cock (2, cheeks)
Bronze mallard Bronze mallard (2 segments, roof)
Blue chatterer or substitute Blue macaw (2, wing veils)
Blue macaw Blue macaw (2 strands, horns)
Thin head cement and 5-minute epoxy (head)
How to tie it
Build the gut eye first. Start Nano Silk 24/0 at the tip of the blind eye hook, wrap a base along the tapered portion and back, bend a loop of silkworm gut around a tapered bodkin and bind it in from underneath with edge-to-edge wraps. Cement the wraps, and once dry razor the ends off on a taper so the transition into the body is invisible.
Switch to Uni-Nylon 70 denier white and lay the tag: strip Lagartun fine oval silver back to the core, tie the core in so the tinsel starts even with the barb, five edge-to-edge turns, then strip back to the core again to finish flat. Run yellow silk floss forward over a smooth base to the point, burnish it smooth, and tie in a golden pheasant crest slightly longer than the bend for the tail.
Switch to Uni 17/0 Trico for the kingfisher veil on top of the crest, then tie in a stripped black ostrich herl by the stem and wrap five edge-to-edge turns for the butt.
Change to Nano Silk 12/0 for the body. Tie in oval silver and medium embossed silver together, run the embossed tinsel around as a trial rib to find where the second turn falls and mark it. Wrap red silk floss about a third of the way forward from the butt, secure it underneath and burnish it.
Tie in a folded red hackle by the tip level with the mark, pin it out of the way with lead wire, then spin a split-thread loop of red seal's fur, brush it out and wrap the dubbing behind and in front of the hackle to the end of the threaded area, sweeping fibres back with your fingers.
Rib forward with the flat embossed tinsel first so the second turn falls behind the hackle, then the oval tight behind it, then palmer the folded hackle along the oval and wrap the remainder as a collar once you clear the dubbing. Strip the collar fibres off the top of the hook and sweep the rest downward.
Switch to Nano Silk 24/0 and mount two golden pheasant tippets back to back with tips even with the veil, then the married wing: florican bustard, dyed yellow turkey, dyed red turkey and a single strand of cory bustard, repeated for three layers, each segment slightly longer for a taper, topped with argus pheasant. Add married wood duck and teal sides one at a time with the bars lined up, a folded yellow throat hackle in front of the wing, jungle cock cheeks, a bronze mallard roof, blue chatterer veils, a golden pheasant crest topping arched to match the wing, and blue macaw horns. Finish in black thread, cement, and epoxy the head once dry.