In The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, Gwaihir is the giant eagle who rescues Gandalf from Orthanc.
Gwaihir is the Lord of the Eagles and a powerful ally of Gandalf. In The Fellowship of the Ring, Saruman imprisons Gandalf at the top of Orthanc after Gandalf discovers that Saruman has joined Sauron’s cause. Gwaihir carries Gandalf away from the tower, allowing him to continue warning the free peoples.
The eagle later helps transport Gandalf after the battle with the Balrog and assists at the end of the war. The films show the Eagles as important rescuers, but they do not simply solve the entire quest by flying the Ring to Mordor. The route, the Ring’s danger, and Sauron’s defenses make the mission fundamentally different from a rescue flight. Gwaihir is also distinct from Thorondor, an earlier eagle from Tolkien’s First Age stories.