Sub Category: Birds and Beasts

Title: The Corpse Bird or Deryn Corph

This was a bird that came flapping its wings against the window of the room in which lay a sick person, and this visit was considered a certain omen of that person’s death.  The bird not only fluttered about the lighted window, but also made a screeching noise whilst there and as it flew away.  The bird, singled out for the dismal honour of being a death prognosticator, was the tawny, or screech owl.  Many are the instances of its having been the precursor of death.  This superstition is common to all parts of Wales.