Buckbeak is a hippogriff in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.
Hippogriffs are magical creatures with the front parts of eagles and the hind parts of horses. They are proud and must be approached respectfully; Harry wins Buckbeak’s trust by bowing before touching him during Hagrid’s Care of Magical Creatures lesson.
Buckbeak becomes important to the story after Draco Malfoy insults him and is injured by the creature. Draco’s complaint leads to a death sentence, although the execution is secretly avoided when Harry and Hermione use the Time-Turner.
Buckbeak is later renamed Witherwings while in hiding. He should not be confused with a thestral, another flying creature in the films, or with a basilisk, the giant serpent seen in Chamber of Secrets.