The mythical creature with the front half of an eagle and the back half of a horse is the hippogriff.
The hippogriff is a legendary hybrid with an eagle’s head, wings, and forequarters joined to a horse’s hindquarters. Unlike the ancient griffin, which combines an eagle with a lion, the hippogriff specifically has a horse as its rear half.
The creature was invented by the Italian poet Ludovico Ariosto in his epic poem Orlando Furioso, first published in the early 16th century. In the poem, the hippogriff is an extraordinarily swift flying steed associated with the knight Ruggiero and the magician Atlantes. Its supposed parentage—a griffin and a mare—was presented as an impossible union, reinforcing its fantastical nature.
The hippogriff is often confused with Pegasus, which is simply a winged horse, or with a griffin, whose rear half is leonine. Modern audiences may also know the creature through Buckbeak in the Harry Potter series, where it is portrayed as proud, intelligent, and dangerous when treated disrespectfully.