In medieval European legend, the creature with a rooster’s head, serpent’s body, and lethal gaze was the cockatrice.
The cockatrice was described as a hybrid monster, often with a cockerel’s head, wings, and legs combined with a serpent-like body. Medieval accounts varied considerably, and some treated the cockatrice as closely related to, or nearly identical with, the basilisk.
Its gaze was commonly said to kill, while later traditions also gave it a poisonous breath or touch. Stories sometimes claimed that a cockatrice could be destroyed by making it see its own reflection. This detail resembles broader folklore about deadly creatures and mirrors.
The word comes through Middle English from Latin and Greek terms associated with a serpent. It should not be confused with a wyvern, which is a winged dragon form rather than a rooster-serpent hybrid.