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Description
Perhaps the most bizarre of all creatures to grace the legendarium, the cockatrice is perhaps one of the most dangerous as well. Those who have seen the cockatrice and lived have been few in number, so naturally the tales of its biology are quite fantastic; legend tells that it is part fowl and part serpent, born from a cock's egg incubated by a toad or a serpent. It's mere presence is enough to render the land around it uninhabitable. Most terrifying of all, as the tales tell, is that it's mere glance is enough to slay it's victims...
Recent scientific inquiries have painted a different portrait of the cockatrice. Though it's mere description would place it in the archosaur line along with other surviving races of that lineage, it has more in common with the squamates, more particularly the monitor lizards; what appear to be feathers are highly modified scales. It's 'wings' are roughly equivalent to the hood of a cobra, taken to far more extreme levels in terms of display, as are it's more galliforme wattles and comb. These latter features all seem to serve a display function, not so much as to attract mates, but to attract prey; posing as a chicken, the cockatrice is able to lure such birds close to it by mimicking them, right up until the bird is within reach of its fangs. The fact that it has these features points to an origin in the jungles of Asia, though Asian lore does not feature them; it may be that cockatrices may have migrated to Europe, the greatest source of their legends, for unknown reasons.
It's deadly gaze, on the other hand, has some surprises of its own; rather than kill outright, it seems that the cockatrice's display allows it to cow potential prey and rivals to the point of paralysis. It keeps them within reach with another unique feature; though a hypnotic gaze is usually considered myth, in the cockatrice it seems to be real, due to the fact that it can change the very color of it's irises in a psychedelic manner, transfixing potential prey long enough for it to come in and strike.
Legend also tells of a similar creature known simply as the 'basilisk' or king of serpents, which also possesses a deadly gaze. The two creatures are so similar, in fact, that experts have come to the general conclusion that cockatrices and basilisks are the same species. The only difference is gender; cockatrices have generally been found to be male. A basilisk specimen has yet to be found...

EDIT: 5/31/2016 Colored.

Description
Perhaps the most bizarre of all creatures to grace the legendarium, the cockatrice is perhaps one of the most dangerous as well. Those who have seen the cockatrice and lived have been few in number, so naturally the tales of its biology are quite fantastic; legend tells that it is part fowl and part serpent, born from a cock's egg incubated by a toad or a serpent. It's mere presence is enough to render the land around it uninhabitable. Most terrifying of all, as the tales tell, is that it's mere glance is enough to slay it's victims...
Recent scientific inquiries have painted a different portrait of the cockatrice. Though it's mere description would place it in the archosaur line along with other surviving races of that lineage, it has more in common with the squamates, more particularly the monitor lizards; what appear to be feathers are highly modified scales. It's 'wings' are roughly equivalent to the hood of a cobra, taken to far more extreme levels in terms of display, as are it's more galliforme wattles and comb. These latter features all seem to serve a display function, not so much as to attract mates, but to attract prey; posing as a chicken, the cockatrice is able to lure such birds close to it by mimicking them, right up until the bird is within reach of its fangs. The fact that it has these features points to an origin in the jungles of Asia, though Asian lore does not feature them; it may be that cockatrices may have migrated to Europe, the greatest source of their legends, for unknown reasons.
It's deadly gaze, on the other hand, has some surprises of its own; rather than kill outright, it seems that the cockatrice's display allows it to cow potential prey and rivals to the point of paralysis. It keeps them within reach with another unique feature; though a hypnotic gaze is usually considered myth, in the cockatrice it seems to be real, due to the fact that it can change the very color of it's irises in a psychedelic manner, transfixing potential prey long enough for it to come in and strike.
Legend also tells of a similar creature known simply as the 'basilisk' or king of serpents, which also possesses a deadly gaze. The two creatures are so similar, in fact, that experts have come to the general conclusion that cockatrices and basilisks are the same species. The only difference is gender; cockatrices have generally been found to be male. A basilisk specimen has yet to be found...

EDIT: 5/31/2016 Colored.