View allAll Photos Tagged cryptid
AI creation with Dreamwombo
various different models, same prompt for all.
PROMPT:
by Michael DeForge and derek hess: creature with disembodied gaping mouth made of used syringes! ,sixpack eyes, ruptured photomontage by bobby neel adams , milk running out of mouth by Simon Bisley, igor Morski , Bogomils Universe, cryptid taxidermy by Art of the Mystic Otto Rapp
An Elwedritsch egg from Neustadt/Weinstraße found its way to the Neuer Markt (New Market) in Wernigerode in the Harz mountains, Sachsen-Anhalt (Saxony-Anhalt), Germany!
Elwedritsche, or Elwetritsche, or Ilwetritsche are mythological creatures of the Palatinate region in south-west Germany (see wikipedia-quotation below).
But how did they come to Wernigerode in Sachsen-Anhalt which is about 400 km (~250 mi) away? There's a plate beside the sculptures that explains it:
"In der guten, alten Zeit, ungefähr 8 Meilen vor Weihnachten, lebten im Pfälzer Wald kleine Kobolde, die den armen Weinbauern aus manch kniffliger Lage halfen, aber auch manchen Bürger mit ihren Streichen zur Verzweiflung brachten.
Dieses kleine Volk, genannt Elwedritsche, lebt lustig und vergnügt bis in unsere Tage. Als 1989 eine Partnerschaft zwischen den Städten Neustadt an der Weinstraße und Wernigerode geschlossen wurde, machten sich eine Elwedritsche-Mutter und ihr Ei auf den Weg in den Harz. Hier sind sie nun zu bestaunen.
Wie viele dieser lustigen Gesellen insgesamt in den Harz und nach Wernigerode gezogen sind, kann nur erahnt werden. Jedesmal, wenn man in und um Wernigerode von mysteriösen oder lustigen Streichen hört, könnten die Elwedritsche im Spiel sein."
Translation:
"In the good olden days, about 8 miles before Christmas, small kobolds (sprites of German folklore) lived in the Palatinate Forest that helped the poor winegrowers out of many a tricky situation but also reduced many a citizen to despair with the tricks they played on them.
This little people called Elwedritsche live merrily and jolly down to the present days. When in 1989 a twinning was arranged between the towns Neustadt an der Weinstraße and Wernigerode, an Elwedritsche mother and her egg set out for the Harz mountains. Here they are now to be marvelled at.
We can only guess how many of these funny fellows moved to the Harz and to Wernigerode. Everytime you hear of mysterious or funny tricks played in or around Wernigerode, Elwedritsche might be involved."
---quotation from en.wikipedia.org about Elwedritsche:---
The Elwedritsch is a cryptid or mythical creature that supposedly inhabits the Palatinate of Germany. It is described as being a chicken-like creature with antlers. It also has scales instead of feathers. However, it is said that their wings are of little use. That is why they live mainly in underbrush and under vines. Sometimes Elwetritschen are depicted with antlers of a stag and their beaks often appear to be very long. In the second half of the 20th century, artists increasingly portrayed Elwetritschen as female by adding breasts. Elwetritschen supposedly originate from crossbreeding chickens, ducks, and geese with mythical wood creatures such as goblins and elves. Being a fowl, they naturally lay eggs, which as a result of descending from forest spirits, grow during breeding season. Eggs in various sizes are artistically depicted at the “Elwetritschenbrunnen” in Neustadt an der Weinstraße.
(...)
The area in which tales of the Elwetritsch are spread expands from the Palatinate Forest in the west of Germany towards the east across the Upper Rhine Plain to the southern parts of the Odenwald. The mythical creature also appears in the north of Baden-Württemberg. In the Main-Tauber-Kreis, where they are known as “Ilwedridsche”, the children are told that at night the creatures sleep in the crowns of the willow trees standing next to the river Tauber. In Neustadt an der Weinstraße, which is said to be the “capital” of the Elwetritsches, there is an Elwetritsche-fountain, created by Gernot Rumpf. Other sources consider Dahn in the southwestern Palatinate, which also has a Elwetritsche-fountain, Erfweiler or other villages as secret capitals of these creatures. The Pennsylvania Dutch are convinced that Palatinate people--their biggest group of ancestors--all of whom emigrated to America, had taken some “Elbedritschlicher” with them “so ass sie kenn Heemweh grigge deede” (so that they wouldn’t become homesick). Tales of the Elwetritschen are also documented in Amish communities.
---end of quotation---
Wernigerode is a picturesque town in the northeast of the Harz mountains, situated at the foot of the Brocken (1141 m = 3743 ft) which is the highest mountain of the Harz.
Wernigerode has many half-timbered houses, particularly the beautiful Gothic town hall, and the impressive Schloss Wernigerode (Wernigerode Castle) towers above the town. The Harzer Schmalspurbahn (Harz Narrow Gauge Railways) operates at Wernigerode station, connecting Wernigerode with the Brocken and the town of Nordhausen in the south of the Harz mountains.
Harz weekend June 2012
i did this today for my brother who is way into Tokusatsu.
btw these are the characters from my mega awesome whateveritis called the Cryptid Crew.
slightly different version available here: www.society6.com/studio/gimetzco/the_Cryptid_Crew_VS_Uncl...
One of the bonus stories in the special hardcover edition of our CRYPTOZOOLOGY ANTHOLOGY (on Amazon here -> www.amazon.com/Cryptozoology-Anthology-Mysterious-Creatur...), taken from the February 1953 issue of the obscure men's adventure magazine HIS. It reveals that evil Commies were crossbreeding apes and men to create ape-men supersoldiers, using technology developed by Nazis!
The Waheela is a wolf-like cryptid reported from Nahanni Valley in the Northwest Territories of Canada. It has also been reported in areas of Michigan and Alaska. Described as a very large creature, that has features of both a wolf and a bear. Being an subarctic creature, the fur covering this large beast is snow white. Some of my cryptozoological colleagues feel that perhaps the Waheela is a relic population of bear-dogs. Neither bear nor dog, the bear-dog became extinct 3 to 4 million years ago . #dog #bear #wolf #canada #sighting #waheela
A wolf gray, white or black. 12 feet tall or more at shoulder while standing on all 4 paws and twice as long of body. Muscled heavily claws much more than greatest of bears.
It is mortal of body but a divine agent of Gaia endowed with her protection, faster healing physical superiority to everything else in nature. A Guardian designed to be near impossibly to kill.
Unlike a were wolf, Gaia created Waheela for her purposes. If they would die serving her interests she wastes her efforts. So often unless old and getting feeble, those who fall a Waheela are often surprised of their sudden unexpected full and instant recovery within minutes of being kills.
Waheelas are the ultimate predators made for sudden bursts of brutal power yet capable of agility the best of both sides.
Also Waheela have no aversion to garlic, silver, crosses or the name of god. when faced with a superior foe Gaia sustains them.
But the waheela must also be smart and use the others strengths to their advantage.
For example a Waheela against a Giant polar bear. They would not fight as bears. The waheela would circle and look for opportunity then schred the bears arteries in the legs. A bled out opponant is only a meal that you wait on like delivery.
(( unfortunately there is no real Waheela avatar in SL ))
Spot-bellied Eagle Owl
The spot-bellied eagle-owl (Bubo nipalensis), also known as the forest eagle-owl is a large bird of prey with a formidable appearance. It is a forest-inhabiting species found in the Indian Subcontinent and Southeast Asia. This species is considered part of a superspecies with the barred eagle-owl (Bubo sumatranus), which looks quite similar but is allopatric in distribution, replacing the larger spot-bellied species in the southern end of the Malay Peninsula and the larger island in Southeast Asia extending down to Borneo.
The spot-bellied eagle-owl is a large species of owl. It measures from 50 to 65 cm (20 to 26 in) in length. It is the sixth longest owl in the world on average and has the ninth longest wings of any living owl. The ear-tufts of the spot-bellied are very long and conspicuously of variable length, giving them a somewhat scraggly appearance at the tips. The ear-tufts of the spot-bellied eagle-owl measure up to 63 to 76 mm (2.5 to 3.0 in) in length. Most eagle-owls are well-feathered on both their leg and toes, while the barred eagle-owl is featherless on the toes and feathered on the legs, and the spot-bellied eagle-owl has feathered legs and feet, but the terminal digits of the toes are bare before the talons. The feet and talons as formidable as any eagle-owl, being very large, heavy and powerful for their size.
The spot-bellied eagle-owl is overall a stark, grayish brown bird, with dark, coarse brown coloration over the back and upper wings. The throat and underparts are mainly pale fulvous in color with black and white horizontal stripes along the flanks of the body that become broad spots on the abdomen and under tail coverts. On the wings, the primaries are dark brown with lighter brown stripes and the secondaries are more heavily barred with buff-brown coloration. The lores are covered in bristly feathers and the cheeks are brownish-white with black feather shafts. The large ear tufts slant off to the sides.
This owl is noted for its strange, human-sounding call, and it has been suggested that it is the same as the cryptid known as ulama or "Devil Bird" in Sri Lanka. A local name is Maha Bakamuna ("large horned owl"). According to www.cryptozoology.com, in July 2001 it was confirmed that ulama description perfectly matches spot-bellied eagle-owl. This call consists of a scream, which rises and then falls in tone. The territorial call of the species, like that of most other eagle-owls, consists of low hoots with two-second intervals between hoos. The voice is booming, deep and carries quite far. It is usual for forest-dwelling owls (and many different kinds of birds) to have an extensive and complex range of vocalizations since vision is more limited than in open or semi-open habitats. However, the spot-bellied eagle owl has relatively small ear openings even for a member of the genus Bubo, suggesting that some territorial behaviour is carried out visually instead of auditorily.
This species is distributed the Lower Himalayas from Kumaon east to Burma, thence to central Laos and central Vietnam. They are found throughout the Indian subcontinent and peninsular Southeast Asia down into the southernmost limits of the range in Sri Lanka and to 12 degrees north in southern Thailand. The spot-bellied eagle-owl dwells mainly in primary or older second growth forests. Potentially, they can come to inhabit nearly all varieties of land-based habitats but prefer those such as dense, evergreen forests or moist deciduous forests within its range, though can range secondarily into tropical valleys, terrai and shola in the lower hills of India. Although often considered uncommon to somewhat rare, recent photographic evidence indicates that they are particularly widely found in different parts of India and may simply avoid detection, so long as appropriate wooded habitat remains.
The spot-bellied eagle-owl is nocturnal and often spends its day hidden in the dense foliage of large forest trees. However, they have been observed on the move and even hunting during the day, especially in forests with minimal human disturbance. Their activity normally picks up at dusk as they begin to hunt. This species is generally uncommon, likely needing large hunting and breeding territories and thus occurs at low densities. However, it continues to occur over a large range and is not thought to be conservation dependent. Areas, where deforestation occurs, are likely to be vacated by this species, which is perhaps the only widespread threat faced by this owl.
Created with Dreamwombo - switching with some the seed image.
PROMPT:
"the albino punker prophets of the apocalypse || collage, surrealism, in the styles of otto rapp and emek and paulo cunha, intricately detailed, expansive, maximalist, mixed media, modern colors, epic, stunning, beautiful, magic realism, highest resolution, cryptid taxidermy in bogomils universe"
AI creation with Bing Co-Pilot Designer
The prompt used is the same as I used on Nightcafe and DeviantArt previously.
PROMPT:
TOHUWABOHU Surreal Fantasy Drawing by the Mystic Otto Rapp under the Influence of Ernst Fuchs, H.R. Giger and Beksinski, india ink on paper, detailed strokes, psychedelic collage, cryptid taxidermy in Bogomils Universe
AI created in SDXL 1.0 mode on ClipDrop.
I use this for testing my prompts. Sometimes also to use the results as seed images on Nightcafe.
AI created on Dreamwombo
PROMPT:
Aquirre The Cryptid Taxidermy Hideout set in the Amazon Jungle, in post apocalyptic wonderland, in heaven everything is fine by lady in the radiator and brothers quay, stopmotion cinema photograph by Werner Herzog, by Giuseppe Arcimboldo, Hieronymus Bosch, Art Nouveau, intricately detailed, hyperrealism, fantasy, imperial colors; Bogomils Universe
created on Dreamwombo AI
Revisiting the 'Insane Asylum' I started early over a year ago. Slight adjustments to the prompt, adding Bogomil's Universe and Cryptid Taxidermy, plus my own name to the artists references.
Dreamwombo produces some nice crisp images that are easily enlarged (I go for 2.5 times i.e. 250%) in Windows Photo
PROMPT:
Planet Earth, Insane Asylum, Max Ernst, H.R. Giger, Zdzisław Beksiński, surrealism, psychedelic art, steampunk, mixed media, fantastical, entangled, futuristic, zombiecore, Imperial Colors, cryptid taxidermy in Bogomil's Universe by the Mystic Otto Rapp
Once Batman took to the streets disguised as a monstrous spirit of vengeance. But since The Riddler has proven to the world that the urban legend which keeps criminals awake at night is not a superman or a demon but a very mortal man, Batman has rebranded himself as a more traditional superhero who fights Gotham's new-wave of super crime with intellect and skill rather than power. However, as gimmicky villains and inexperienced vigilantes put the city in more danger than ever before, it may turn out that Batman's isolated and brooding nature are what keep him from becoming the hero that Gotham needs.
----
*While keeping his classic logo, colors, and cowl, the details of Batman's costume were more heavily influenced by his derivatives Green Arrow, Batgirl, and Robin.
*You probably can't tell (and I hope you don't look this closely at my figures, because they don't hold up when they are large) but Batman's stubble is dark tan. This version is blond. Why? Well, to immediately justify myself, Batman was going to be blond going by his earliest character design concept by Bob Kane before Bill Finger transformed it into the more iconic Golden Age look. As for the deeper and harder why, because I didn't feel the need to bring back the plain red spandex or the domino mask, it was to give Bruce Wayne an "angel of light" appearance to contrast Batman. This idea comes from the original conception of the Sensational Universe when it was a Wonder Woman story where the Olympian gods were given looks based on various Justice League members. Hades was sort of the exception, in that he was really a pale Bruce Wayne rather than having any Batman motifs. As the Hades concept came out from the Underworld to be used for the Sensational Bruce, it made sense to me to make Bruce lighter so as to retain that contrast between the Underworld and the not-Underworld.
*The background and some of the bios make reference to a more cryptid or monstrous costume Batman wore while he was an urban legend. This might come eventually, but I haven't actually decided what it should look like yet aside from some very broad strokes.
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light recon mech, “Watchman”
Unlike the versions of the Wakerunner I've seen on Solo Nobre, these Wakerunners are different, the "Watchman" version especially. More thought has been put into their design it seems. The sensor package was moved further up on the frame, and the main radar completely scrapped. The wider foot pads also give it an advantage during the shittiest season on Midgard: Winter. That means like a snow fox of Earth, this thing is striding around hunting vehicles much smaller than itself, like those lovely snow bikes they have here. During the summer it may be prey, but once the sheet snow starts coming, this thing is like a goddamned cryptid to some of the locals.
-JH
The elusive stank ape as fleetingly glimpsed in the 1976 Savage Sasquatch Cinema classic, "Creature From Black Lake".
for mystical market's cryptid theme i bring you an Appalachian cryptid known as the sheepsquatch! this mod is based off of the original description and not the fallout 76 interpretation. legend says they are a large white monster with horns like a ram, face like a dog, raccoon hands, and a possum tail.
these mods are unisex shaded and bom. fluff and horns are included!
mystical market is now open!
Alien? Madman? Genetic freak? Bigfoot? Thanks to Dr. Gangrene for hepping me to this puzzling and enchanting item... On a post-it note!
Back in 2020 I painted this vest with great big cute mothman cryptid (Yes, I live nearby to where the mothman legend came about.) and a parade of Fresno Nightcrawlers around the bottom edge. Sadly, I don’t really wear it as I typically like my vests cropped above my big stupid butt. I have some more ideas of additional things to add to it. My brain is bubbling over with creative ideas because I am not able to sit down and work on them. I forgot how much fun I had making this vest. Here’s to me staying motivated through this busier time so when winter comes around I am able to actually bring these tenuous ideas to fruition.
AI creation with Bing Image Creator
PROMPT:
B-52 bomber dropping rock lobster's, surreal, in the styles of Salvador Dali and Costin Chioreanu and Jason Barnett and Emek, maximalist, mixed media, vibrant colors, shades of red and Blue and Gold, bokeh, melted metal, intricate ink illustration, (triadic colors:0.2), sharp focus, stunning, epic masterpiece, cryptid taxidermy in Bogomil's Universe
created in NIGHTCAFE - Stable Diffusion SDXL 1.0
the prompt including H.R. Giger and Alphonse Mucha
adapting the 'Cryptid' prompt for a change of visions into Wonderland and my Inner Universe of Surreal crazy!
For a centaur it is a epic fail, but I am keeping it - it is way too funny!
PROMPT:
"A Magnificient Cryptid Winged Centaur" stands front and center in a wonderland landscape, painting by H.R. Giger and Alphonse Mucha, Art Nouveau, Baroque, intricately detailed, hyperrealism, fantasy, imperial colors; Bogomils Universe of the Mystic Otto Rapp
Various Bigfoot, Yeti, Yeren and Skunk Ape figures from UMA, The Great Mystery Museum and Collect Club from Japan
created with Dreamwombo Style Retro Pop v3
PROMPT:
"a close up of an animal skull with its mouth open, by aleksi briclot, carnage fangs, character poster, acid leaking from mouth, portrait of a humanoid alien, spider gag, gum tissue, opened mouth, albino, anthropomorphic creature, metamorphosis of cryptid tavidermy in bogomils universe surreal visions by otto rapp and paulo cunha"
AI creation with Dreamwombo
various models
PROMPT:
colorful portrait in Hundertwasser style with Giger and Bosch accents in Bogomil's Universe, surrounded by cryptid creatures and exotic plants
AI image created with Kandinsky 2.2
PROMPT:
"Garden Airplane Traps is a detailed decalcomania (painting by artist Otto Rapp 1.5) at the Cryptid Taxidermy Museum, design by Max Ernst, by H.R. Giger, by Giuseppe Arcimboldo, Hieronymus Bosch, Alphonse Mucha, intricately detailed, hyperrealism, fantasy, Bogomils Universe, imperial colors"
An Elwedritsch mother from Neustadt/Weinstraße found her way to the Neuer Markt (New Market) in Wernigerode in the Harz mountains, Sachsen-Anhalt (Saxony-Anhalt), Germany!
Elwedritsche, or Elwetritsche, or Ilwetritsche are mythological creatures of the Palatinate region in south-west Germany (see wikipedia-quotation below).
But how did they come to Wernigerode in Sachsen-Anhalt which is about 400 km (~250 mi) away? There's a plate beside the sculptures that explains it:
"In der guten, alten Zeit, ungefähr 8 Meilen vor Weihnachten, lebten im Pfälzer Wald kleine Kobolde, die den armen Weinbauern aus manch kniffliger Lage halfen, aber auch manchen Bürger mit ihren Streichen zur Verzweiflung brachten.
Dieses kleine Volk, genannt Elwedritsche, lebt lustig und vergnügt bis in unsere Tage. Als 1989 eine Partnerschaft zwischen den Städten Neustadt an der Weinstraße und Wernigerode geschlossen wurde, machten sich eine Elwedritsche-Mutter und ihr Ei auf den Weg in den Harz. Hier sind sie nun zu bestaunen.
Wie viele dieser lustigen Gesellen insgesamt in den Harz und nach Wernigerode gezogen sind, kann nur erahnt werden. Jedesmal, wenn man in und um Wernigerode von mysteriösen oder lustigen Streichen hört, könnten die Elwedritsche im Spiel sein."
Translation:
"In the good olden days, about 8 miles before Christmas, small kobolds (sprites of German folklore) lived in the Palatinate Forest that helped the poor winegrowers out of many a tricky situation but also reduced many a citizen to despair with the tricks they played on them.
This little people called Elwedritsche live merrily and jolly down to the present days. When in 1989 a twinning was arranged between the towns Neustadt an der Weinstraße and Wernigerode, an Elwedritsche mother and her egg set out for the Harz mountains. Here they are now to be marvelled at.
We can only guess how many of these funny fellows moved to the Harz and to Wernigerode. Everytime you hear of mysterious or funny tricks played in or around Wernigerode, Elwedritsche might be involved."
---quotation from en.wikipedia.org about Elwedritsche:---
The Elwedritsch is a cryptid or mythical creature that supposedly inhabits the Palatinate of Germany. It is described as being a chicken-like creature with antlers. It also has scales instead of feathers. However, it is said that their wings are of little use. That is why they live mainly in underbrush and under vines. Sometimes Elwetritschen are depicted with antlers of a stag and their beaks often appear to be very long. In the second half of the 20th century, artists increasingly portrayed Elwetritschen as female by adding breasts. Elwetritschen supposedly originate from crossbreeding chickens, ducks, and geese with mythical wood creatures such as goblins and elves. Being a fowl, they naturally lay eggs, which as a result of descending from forest spirits, grow during breeding season. Eggs in various sizes are artistically depicted at the “Elwetritschenbrunnen” in Neustadt an der Weinstraße.
(...)
The area in which tales of the Elwetritsch are spread expands from the Palatinate Forest in the west of Germany towards the east across the Upper Rhine Plain to the southern parts of the Odenwald. The mythical creature also appears in the north of Baden-Württemberg. In the Main-Tauber-Kreis, where they are known as “Ilwedridsche”, the children are told that at night the creatures sleep in the crowns of the willow trees standing next to the river Tauber. In Neustadt an der Weinstraße, which is said to be the “capital” of the Elwetritsches, there is an Elwetritsche-fountain, created by Gernot Rumpf. Other sources consider Dahn in the southwestern Palatinate, which also has a Elwetritsche-fountain, Erfweiler or other villages as secret capitals of these creatures. The Pennsylvania Dutch are convinced that Palatinate people--their biggest group of ancestors--all of whom emigrated to America, had taken some “Elbedritschlicher” with them “so ass sie kenn Heemweh grigge deede” (so that they wouldn’t become homesick). Tales of the Elwetritschen are also documented in Amish communities.
---end of quotation---
Wernigerode is a picturesque town in the northeast of the Harz mountains, situated at the foot of the Brocken (1141 m = 3743 ft) which is the highest mountain of the Harz.
Wernigerode has many half-timbered houses, particularly the beautiful Gothic town hall, and the impressive Schloss Wernigerode (Wernigerode Castle) towers above the town. The Harzer Schmalspurbahn (Harz Narrow Gauge Railways) operates at Wernigerode station, connecting Wernigerode with the Brocken and the town of Nordhausen in the south of the Harz mountains.
Harz weekend June 2012
I've always been an avid consumer of Icelandic folklore. So when Moc League 2023 rolled over and I saw that the theme was folklore/cryptids, I immidiately had an idea what to build.
So yeah, this is my much more monstrous take on Þvörusleikir. Whlist the other yule lads were annoying, Þvörusleikir's appetite wasn't sattisfied with a spoon here or there, no, a lust for spoons took hold of him. Now he goes so far to not just lick but steal spoons for the rest of the year to satisfy his evergrowing lust for the licks.
Water colour-resist project from my Drawing and Painting for Families class (puck paints and oil pastel on Mayfair paper with masking taped-off trees). Birch bark markings drawn on after the tape (and half the wrinkly paper) was peeled. Stank Ape added later at home for laughs.
Spot-bellied Eagle Owl
The spot-bellied eagle-owl (Bubo nipalensis), also known as the forest eagle-owl is a large bird of prey with a formidable appearance. It is a forest-inhabiting species found in the Indian Subcontinent and Southeast Asia. This species is considered part of a superspecies with the barred eagle-owl (Bubo sumatranus), which looks quite similar but is allopatric in distribution, replacing the larger spot-bellied species in the southern end of the Malay Peninsula and the larger island in Southeast Asia extending down to Borneo.
The spot-bellied eagle-owl is a large species of owl. It measures from 50 to 65 cm (20 to 26 in) in length. It is the sixth longest owl in the world on average and has the ninth longest wings of any living owl. The ear-tufts of the spot-bellied are very long and conspicuously of variable length, giving them a somewhat scraggly appearance at the tips. The ear-tufts of the spot-bellied eagle-owl measure up to 63 to 76 mm (2.5 to 3.0 in) in length. Most eagle-owls are well-feathered on both their leg and toes, while the barred eagle-owl is featherless on the toes and feathered on the legs, and the spot-bellied eagle-owl has feathered legs and feet, but the terminal digits of the toes are bare before the talons. The feet and talons as formidable as any eagle-owl, being very large, heavy and powerful for their size.
The spot-bellied eagle-owl is overall a stark, grayish brown bird, with dark, coarse brown coloration over the back and upper wings. The throat and underparts are mainly pale fulvous in color with black and white horizontal stripes along the flanks of the body that become broad spots on the abdomen and under tail coverts. On the wings, the primaries are dark brown with lighter brown stripes and the secondaries are more heavily barred with buff-brown coloration. The lores are covered in bristly feathers and the cheeks are brownish-white with black feather shafts. The large ear tufts slant off to the sides.
This owl is noted for its strange, human-sounding call, and it has been suggested that it is the same as the cryptid known as ulama or "Devil Bird" in Sri Lanka. A local name is Maha Bakamuna ("large horned owl"). According to www.cryptozoology.com, in July 2001 it was confirmed that ulama description perfectly matches spot-bellied eagle-owl. This call consists of a scream, which rises and then falls in tone. The territorial call of the species, like that of most other eagle-owls, consists of low hoots with two-second intervals between hoos. The voice is booming, deep and carries quite far. It is usual for forest-dwelling owls (and many different kinds of birds) to have an extensive and complex range of vocalizations since vision is more limited than in open or semi-open habitats. However, the spot-bellied eagle owl has relatively small ear openings even for a member of the genus Bubo, suggesting that some territorial behaviour is carried out visually instead of auditorily.
This species is distributed the Lower Himalayas from Kumaon east to Burma, thence to central Laos and central Vietnam. They are found throughout the Indian subcontinent and peninsular Southeast Asia down into the southernmost limits of the range in Sri Lanka and to 12 degrees north in southern Thailand. The spot-bellied eagle-owl dwells mainly in primary or older second growth forests. Potentially, they can come to inhabit nearly all varieties of land-based habitats but prefer those such as dense, evergreen forests or moist deciduous forests within its range, though can range secondarily into tropical valleys, terrai and shola in the lower hills of India. Although often considered uncommon to somewhat rare, recent photographic evidence indicates that they are particularly widely found in different parts of India and may simply avoid detection, so long as appropriate wooded habitat remains.
The spot-bellied eagle-owl is nocturnal and often spends its day hidden in the dense foliage of large forest trees. However, they have been observed on the move and even hunting during the day, especially in forests with minimal human disturbance. Their activity normally picks up at dusk as they begin to hunt. This species is generally uncommon, likely needing large hunting and breeding territories and thus occurs at low densities. However, it continues to occur over a large range and is not thought to be conservation dependent. Areas, where deforestation occurs, are likely to be vacated by this species, which is perhaps the only widespread threat faced by this owl.