Cockatrices

Related:
* Basilisks

Literaryly related to the "basiliscus" which was transcribed as "Cockatrice"

Like the basilisk, a cockatrice is often associated with a petrifying gaze. A somewhat late entry in the list of fantasy creatures. Having been first mentioned in the late 12th century. A basilisk was called a cockatrice when transcribed from one book to the next and the legend brew from there. In addition to being described in bestiaries, there are notes about its creation and subsequent death by scientists, and a legend of one terrorizing the village of Wherwell, England. Even though its origin as a literary transcription is well established. There has been speculation that fossils of feathered dinosaurs (winged reptiles with feathered heads and beaks that had actually been turned to stone) kept the legend credible.

One method used to defeat a cockatrice was to present it with a mirror. It would fight with its reflection until exhausted (strangely, it did not petrify itself). The sleeping animal would be safer to approach with eyes closed and less chance of it waking.