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He now believed that his fellow might have been sent by the crew to destroy the "devil-bird," as they undoubtedly considered a contraption that could soar through space as fast as the fleetest condor. No matter. It was his business to put a sudden stop to the action. And while doing so he must not be too rough in his dealing with the fellow, lest the entire crew rise in revolt.
He evidently chose to take chances in the swift current of the Magdalena rather than trust himself in the power of the unknown pursuer, which doubtless he believed to be the dreaded "devil-bird" that had been confined in the box cage! Frank came near following after the unknown member of the crew, when the other made that flying leap over the side of the boat.
"The birds are going south, Antoine see and it is so early!" "Yes, Angelique, the winter will be long." There was a pause, and then: "Antoine, I heard a child cry in the night, and I could not sleep." "It was a devil-bird, my wife; it flies slowly, and the summer is dead." "Antoine, there was a rushing of wings by my bed before the morn was breaking."
Mitford, of the Ceylon Civil Service, to whom I am indebted for many valuable notes relative to the birds of the island, regards the identification of the Singhalese Devil-Bird as open to similar doubt: he says "The Devil-Bird is not an owl. I never heard it until I came to Kornegalle, where it haunts the rocky hill at the back of Government-house.
It is the devil-bird; and whoever sees that bird must surely die soon after, according to Cingalese superstition. A more cheering sound charms the ear as the gray tint of morning makes the stars grow pale; clear, rich, notes, now prolonged and full, now plaintive and low, set the example to other singing birds, as the bulbul, first to awake, proclaims the morning.
"Yes," replied the one at the wheel, as the cries and cheers from below were drowned by the volleying motor explosions; "and did you see the señor kissing his hand after us, while his men were flat on their faces?" "It was a queer sight," Andy remarked. "And no wonder these ignorant peons call our little monoplane a 'devil-bird." "Look down now.
Wild Denizens of Forest and Lake Destroyers of Reptiles The Tree Duck The Mysteries of Night in the Forest The Devil-Bird The Iguanodon in Miniature Outrigger Canoes The Last Glimpse of Ceylon A Glance at Old Times. One of the most interesting objects to a tourist in Ceylon is a secluded lake or tank in those jungle districts which are seldom disturbed by the white man.
The ignoble birds of prey, the Kites , keep close by the shore, and hover round the returning boats of the fishermen to feast on the fry rejected from their nets. Dr. Owls. Of the nocturnal accipitres the most remarkable is the brown owl, which, from its hideous yell, has acquired the name of the "Devil-Bird."
The name for the devil-bird is "gualama," and so impressed are the natives with the belief that a sight of it is equivalent to a call to the nether world that they frequently die from sheer fright and nervousness. A case of this happened to a servant of a friend of mine.
It is then that one hears the short, sharp bark of the jackals, the weird howl of migrating families of flying-foxes, the ceaseless hooting of several species of owls, one of which is known as the devil-bird because of its uncanny scream, the croaking of tree-toads and mammoth crickets, mingled with the frequent, distressful cry of some other night bird whose name is unknown, it is heard but not seen.
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