Gryphon

Gryphons were a race similar to Eagles. Unlike their cousins, however, Gryphons had the bodies of lions and the heads, wings and talons of eagles. Earyende Greenleaf had a pet gryphon named Eruraviel which she used as a method of transportation and a reinforcement in battle.

Appearance
Gryphons were very similar to Eagles on the front part of their body, having the head, wings and talons of Eagles. They had the bodies of lions. Gryphons were the same size as Eagles and could be flown on.

History
The origin of gryphons was not known. They were guessed by many to be an early creation of Manwe's similar to his Eagles. They were domesticated by some elves in the year 742 of the second age, but largely died out before the War of the Ring. By the fourth age, only about one hundred gryphons were known to still exist in Middle-Earth.