Devil Bird

{{Short description|Bird monster in Sri Lankan folklore}}

{{About|the legendary creature|the bird|Spot-bellied eagle-owl}}

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File:Devil bird capee 2021 3 9 7.35 PM.jpg

In Sri Lankan folklore, the Devil Bird or Ulama is a creature said to emit bloodcurdling human-sounding shrieks in jungles at night.{{cite book

| title=Sketches of the natural history of Ceylon with narratives and anecdotes

| authorlink =James Emerson Tennent

| first=James Emerson

| last=Tennent

| publisher=Longman, Green

| place=London

| date=1861

| pages=247–248}}

{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article126269451 |title=Devil Bird of Ceylon |newspaper=The Sunday Times |issue=1113 |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=19 May 1907 |accessdate=3 August 2020 |page=3 (The Sunday Times Magazine Section) |via=National Library of Australia}}

{{cite news

| title=Devil Bird of Ceylon

| url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/TH19070411.2.7

| newspaper=Taranaki Herald

| volume=LIV

| issue=13444

| date=11 April 1907

| page=2}}

{{cite book

| title=The cry of the "devil-bird" : incidents in the life of a surgeon, working in Ceylon/Sri Lanka, from 1965 to 2000 / Philip G. Veerasingam; edited by Tissa Kappagoda

| author1=Veerasingam, Philip G

| author2=Kappagoda, Tissa

| year=2010

| publisher=Bay Owl Press

| isbn=9789551723132

| language=English

}} It is believed that the cry of this bird is an omen that portends death.{{cite journal

| work=The Folk-Lore of Ceylon Birds

| title=Nature

| publisher=Nature Research

| volume=36

| pages=381–382

| issn=0028-0836

| date=August 1887

| language=English

}}{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article149188289 |title=Ceylon's Devil Bird |newspaper=Geelong Advertiser |issue=18,550 |location=Victoria, Australia |date=15 September 1906 |accessdate=3 August 2020 |page=8 |via=National Library of Australia}} Its precise identity is still a matter of debate although the spot-bellied eagle-owl matches the profile of Devil Bird to a large extent, according to a finding in 2001.{{Citation needed|date=August 2020}} Other possible identities include the forest eagle-owl (Bubo nipalensis), the crested honey-buzzard (Pernis ptilorhynchus ruficollis), and various eagles.{{cite news|last=Rameez|first=Ria|date=9 June 2016|title=Seven Mythical Creatures That Supposedly Haunt Sri Lanka|publisher=Roar Media|url=https://roar.media/english/life/srilanka-life/local-demons-ghosts-crazy-myths|accessdate=3 August 2020}} As the bird is not usually seen and its cry only described in vague terms, Ulama records might also refer to the Ceylon highland nightjar (Caprimulgus indicus kelaarti).