Cockatrice

Cockatrice, also known as a skoffin and kurolishek, is an ornithosaur. It's also the only creature to belong to the order of ornithoreptile according to scholars, but why exactly they decided on this is not revealed. Its central tail feathers are also valuable as they're more durable and sharpen better than regular goose feathers for quills. Cockatrices are often found in remote, rocky areas such as canyons or cliffs. They are aggressive and territorial, attacking anything that ventures into their domain.
Superstitions surrounding the creature suggest that they are born of eggs laid by roosters consorting with other roosters. The egg must be incubated for forty-four days by a toad, which is devoured by the little beast as soon as it hatches. Another superstition states their glance turns the living to stone; neither are true.
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=== Journal Bestiary entry ===
: "Cockatrices are born of eggs laid by roosters consorting with other roosters. The egg must be incubated for forty-four days by a toad, which is devoured by the little beast as soon as it hatches. A cockatrice hates everything that lives so fiercely that its glance turns the living to stone. Only a bold adventurer with a mirror can deflect its deadly gaze and defeat the cockatrice."
=== Location ===
* Vizima sewers
* Swamp cave in the Swamp
=== Source ===
* Siegfried
* Ornithosaurs
=== Notes ===
* Their remains will not contain their feathers until you have this bestiary entry.
* The Beast of the Sewers encountered as part of the Prison Break quest is a Greater cockatrice, and therefore different from the creature described above. It is also one of the two trophy quests in Chapter II, and the only story-required trophy quest in the whole game.
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Cockatrices are quite rare, with only three more appearing other than the Shrieker:
* North of Arette, between the small lake west of Yantra and the coast
* Northeast of Fornhala on Ard Skellig, right above the large lake next to Kaer Dhu
* Between Arinbjorn and Eldberg Lighthouse, on the southern of the three isles
A bestiary entry can be obtained by reading A Few Remarks on Basilisks and Cockatrices.
=== Bestiary entry ===
: Had meself eight heifers, five of 'em milchers. Then this cockatrice sprung up nearby, and now all's I got left's dried patties in an empty field.– Jethro, peasant from Pindal
: Foolish superstitions claim cockatrices, like basilisks, can kill with their gaze alone. That is utter nonsense, however, a cockatrice's gaze being no more dangerous than that of an angry goose. One should instead watch out for it's sharp beak and long tail, which it can whip to murderous effect.
: Cockatrices thrive in dark caves, abandoned ruins, cobwebbed dungeons and old basements. Though small compared to griffins and manticores, they are more than capable of killing anyone who stumbles across them in a dark corridor.
: Cockatrices do not shun direct fights, in which they strike furiously with wing and tail in an attempt to exhaust their foes. Blows from their beaks are especially dangerous, as they aim with deadly precision at exposed flesh and vital organs and leave bleeding, life-threatening wounds. When fighting them one should make liberal use of draconid oil as well as Grapeshot, whose shrapnel will pierce their delicate wings with ease.
=== Combat tactics ===
Cockatrice will fight aggressively once the fight begins, so to take advantage of this aggression and force them to remain on the ground you should use aard and/or Grapeshot to your benefit.
While in flight, the creature is like other draconids in that will try a set of swooping attacks on you to grab/strike you with its talons. This can be avoided by rolling or dodging to the side, and after about three of these attacks it will land. Instead, you can bring the cockatrice down to the ground to hit it by either using aard, bombs, or the crossbow.Once it's on the ground, however, this is when it is the most dangerous. It will use its talons, wings and feet to strike against its foe, as well as its razor-sharp beak and tail tip. These attacks are fast, fairly long range, hit hard and will almost always accurately target vital regions on its victim causing the bleeding de-buff. If you back away from them even a small amount they will also frequently do a forward leap-strike; it has dangerously long range, does quite a bit of damage, stuns you and their semi-spread wings as they do it can also cause the hit so it is a very wide strike that can be difficult to roll out of range of. After taking a couple of attacks in a combo if you see it cover its head with its wings, stop attacking as this is effectively a parry that will do reduced damage to them, stagger you, break Quen if you have it active, and they will quickly follow up with a counterattack. Cockatrice are fairly resistant to Axii, though Igni can cause them to catch on fire.
The best strategy is to try and flank the cockatrice, ideally getting behind its wings to hit it in the back. It can't do a rapid turn and most if not all of its wide range attacks will miss, so it is possible to put out an unending series of fast attacks from behind the creature while constantly keeping pace with it to stay behind and remain unharmed.
== Notes ==
* In , Geralt killed one of these while staying in Toussaint.
== Videos ==
File:The Witcher 3 Shrieker Boss Fight (Hard Mode)
== Gallery ==
Bestiary Cockatrice full.png| model
Tw3 Cockatrice of Oxenfurt.jpg|In 
Tw3 cardart monsters cockatrice.png|The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt gwent card art
Gwent cardart monsters cockatrice.jpg| card art
== References ==
cs:Kurolišek
de:Gorgo
es:Gallotriz
fr:Cocatrix
hu:Kukorix
it:Cockatrice
lt:Kokatrisė
pl:Kuroliszek
ru:Кокатрикс
sk:Kuroliškovia
uk:Куроліск
Category:The Witcher bestiary
Category:The Witcher 3 bestiary
Category:Draconids
Category:Wiedźmin: Gra Wyobraźni bestiary