What is the name of the great eagle who rescues Bilbo and the dwarves near the end of The Hobbit?

The great eagle who rescues Bilbo and the dwarves near the end of The Hobbit is identified as the Lord of the Eagles.

After the company escapes the goblins and Wargs, the Eagles carry them to safety from the burning trees where they are trapped. Tolkien’s text gives this leader the title “the Lord of the Eagles,” rather than presenting him under the personal name Gwaihir in that scene.

This detail is a common source of confusion because Gwaihir is a major Eagle in The Lord of the Rings. Gwaihir, the Windlord, rescues Gandalf on more than one occasion and leads Eagles during the Battle of the Black Gate. Thorondor is an even earlier and larger Eagle from the First Age, while Landroval is Gwaihir’s brother.

The Eagles are powerful allies, but Tolkien does not treat them as a simple transportation service. Their help is limited, independent, and tied to particular circumstances. Their intervention in The Hobbit saves the company from immediate danger before the later Battle of Five Armies.