Weta Workshop - The Lord of the Rings - Gandalf on Gwaihir 11 cm - Figuur

Immortal creatures many times the size of ordinary birds of prey, the great eagles of the misty mountains flew so high that only the keen eyes of the elves could distinguish them in the blue.

Invisible and untouchable, their mastery of the skies was unmatched until Sauron's Ringwraiths took to the air on the backs of fallen winged beasts during the War of the Ring. Even dragons of old could not match their prowess from the air, and their sight was so keen that they even sensed a mouse stirring on the mountainside. Orcs tread openly on the slopes at their peril, and Wargs kept to the deep forests where trees screened their passage.

In the days of the Third Age, the mightiest of the eagles was Gwaihir the Windlord. A friend of Gandalf the Grey, he carried the wizard on his back and more than once flew him to his aid when great need called.