COCKATRICES

The word "cockatrice" is a Medieval corruption of "crocodile". Because of the word's origin and the fact that it starts with "cock", it gave rise to a folkloric creature part chicken, part reptile. Somewhere along the line it got confused with the basilisk of Greek mythology - a serpent that could kill with a glance (or, alternitively, anybody who looked at it would die). The cockatrice also has this ability, although I'm not sure if that was a characteristic applied to it after it became synonymous with the basilisk, or that it was what equated it with the basilisk in the first place. While the basilisk is still sometimes depicted as wholly reptilian (as opposed to part reptillian and part rooster), it's rare for a cockatrice to be shown in this way. According to cockatrice lore, the monster hatches from a rock that is swallowed by a rooster and "laid" after it passes through the digestive system, and then incubated by a toad or snake.

Pyrolisks are monsters from Dungeons and Dragons which can cause creatures to burst into flame by looking at them. According to the Monstrous Manual, "the pyrolisk is virtually identical to the cockatrice except for the single red feather in its tail and the reddish cast of its wings".