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* ''VideoGame/AgeOfMythology'''s Egyptian faction has option of worshiping Hathor to gain access to Rocs, which carry a huge basket to act as flying transports.
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* A less well-known but arguably even more impressive bird is the Ziz of Jewish mythology, said to be large enough to be able to block out the sun with its wingspan. As Behemoth is the said to be king of land creatures and [[KrakenAndLeviathan Leviathan]] the king of sea creatures, so is Ziz said to be the king of birds. A similar role is ascribed by rabbis to the weirder-looking Simurgh of Persian lore, a MixAndMatchCritter which has the body of a peacock and the head of a dog.
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* A less well-known but arguably even more impressive mythic Middle-Eastern bird is the Ziz of Jewish mythology, said to be large enough to be able to block out the sun with its wingspan. As Behemoth is the said to be king of land creatures and [[KrakenAndLeviathan Leviathan]] the king of sea creatures, so is Ziz said to be the king of birds. A similar role is ascribed by rabbis to the weirder-looking Simurgh [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simurgh Simurgh]] of Persian lore, a MixAndMatchCritter which is gigantic enough to carry off an elephant or a whale and has the body of a peacock and peacock, the head of a dog.dog, and the claws of a lion.
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* Chinese folklore gives us the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peng_(mythology) Peng]], which has been regarded as a synonym of the Roc by some translators of its original description in the Daoist classic ''Zhuangzi''. According to this account, it has a back which "measures I don't know how many thousand ''li'' across" and wings "like clouds all over the sky", and transforms from a fish called the ''Kun''. The original account heavily contrasts the Peng with the dramatically smaller dove and quail, the latter of which sees the Peng flying south and wonders where it is going.
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* Chinese folklore gives us the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peng_(mythology) Peng]], which has been regarded as a synonym of the Roc by some translators of its original description in the Daoist classic ''Zhuangzi''. According to this account, it has a back which "measures I don't know how many thousand ''li'' across" and wings "like clouds all over the sky", and transforms from a fish called the ''Kun''. The original account heavily contrasts the Peng with the dramatically smaller dove and quail, the latter of which sees the Peng flying south and wonders is so awed by its immense size and ability to traverse great distances so quickly that it can't help but wonder where it is going.
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** Another extinct Madagascan bird, the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malagasy_crowned_eagle Malagasy crowned eagle]], may have also inspired the Roc myth, not unlike the Poukai noted under ''Mythology and Folklore'' being inspired by the Haast's eagle. This large bird of prey had a wingspan of up to six feet, and was one of the chief apex predators of the island until going extinct by around 1500. They may have been mixed up with accounts of the aforementioned elephant birds, which over time, would have resulted in rumors of gargantuan eagle-like birds living on Madagascar.
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** Another extinct Madagascan bird, the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malagasy_crowned_eagle Malagasy crowned eagle]], may have also inspired the Roc myth, not unlike the Poukai noted under ''Mythology and Folklore'' '''Myths & Religion''' being inspired by the Haast's eagle. This large bird of prey had a wingspan of up to six feet, and was one of the chief apex predators of the island until going extinct by around 1500. They may have been mixed up with accounts of the aforementioned elephant birds, which over time, would have resulted in rumors of gargantuan eagle-like birds living on Madagascar.
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While this trope most often refers to the roc bird itself, other mythical giant birds of prey of a similar nature from other nationalities may also fall under this trope, with examples including the Native American [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thunderbird_(mythology) Thunderbird]], the Jewish [[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ziz Ziz]], the Hindu [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garuda Garuda]], or the Chinese [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peng_(mythology) Peng]].
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While this trope most often refers to the roc bird itself, other mythical giant birds of prey of a similar nature from other nationalities may also fall under this trope, with examples including the Native American [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thunderbird_(mythology) Thunderbird]], the Jewish [[[https://en.[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ziz Ziz]], the Hindu [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garuda Garuda]], or the Chinese [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peng_(mythology) Peng]].
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** Another extinct Madagascan bird, the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malagasy_crowned_eagle Malagasy crowned eagle]], may have also inspired the Roc myth. This large bird of prey had a wingspan of up to six feet, and was one of the chief apex predators of the island until going extinct by around 1500. They may have been mixed up with accounts of the aforementioned elephant birds, which over time, would have resulted in rumors of gargantuan eagle-like birds living on Madagascar.
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** Another extinct Madagascan bird, the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malagasy_crowned_eagle Malagasy crowned eagle]], may have also inspired the Roc myth.myth, not unlike the Poukai noted under ''Mythology and Folklore'' being inspired by the Haast's eagle. This large bird of prey had a wingspan of up to six feet, and was one of the chief apex predators of the island until going extinct by around 1500. They may have been mixed up with accounts of the aforementioned elephant birds, which over time, would have resulted in rumors of gargantuan eagle-like birds living on Madagascar.
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While this trope most often refers to the roc bird itself, other mythical giant birds of prey of a similar nature from other nationalities may also fall under this trope, with examples including the Native American [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thunderbird_(mythology) Thunderbird], the Jewish [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ziz Ziz], the Hindu [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garuda Garuda], or the Chinese [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peng_(mythology) Peng].
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While this trope most often refers to the roc bird itself, other mythical giant birds of prey of a similar nature from other nationalities may also fall under this trope, with examples including the Native American [https://en.[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thunderbird_(mythology) Thunderbird], Thunderbird]], the Jewish [https://en.[[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ziz Ziz], Ziz]], the Hindu [https://en.[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garuda Garuda], Garuda]], or the Chinese [https://en.[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peng_(mythology) Peng].
Peng]].
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* The Thunderbird, as seen in various Native American mythologies, is similar in nature to the Roc, but also carries supernatural power often related to storms. So massive is it that it is said to create thunder by flapping its wings, and some accounts depict them hunting whales, which try to drown the birds by diving once they've been grabbed. In cryptozoology, the Thunderbird has since been appropriated to refer to rumored sightings of giant flying birds in the skies above North America, with theories ranging from misinterpretations of existing birds of prey to late-surviving [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teratornithidae teratorns] and even [[PteroSoarer pterosaurs]] that have somehow escaped extinction. Generally, though, the notion of a giant undiscovered bird of prey has been dismissed as unlikely - with so many birdwatchers in the U.S., one would think they'd have found out about such a bird by now if it actually existed.
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* The Thunderbird, as seen in various Native American mythologies, is similar in nature to the Roc, but also carries supernatural power often related to storms. So massive is it that it is said to create thunder by flapping its wings, and some accounts depict them hunting whales, which try to drown the birds by diving once they've been grabbed. In cryptozoology, the Thunderbird has since been appropriated to refer to rumored sightings of giant flying birds in the skies above North America, with theories ranging from misinterpretations of existing birds of prey to late-surviving [https://en.[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teratornithidae teratorns] teratorns]] and even [[PteroSoarer pterosaurs]] that have somehow escaped extinction. Generally, though, the notion of a giant undiscovered bird of prey has been dismissed as unlikely - with so many birdwatchers in the U.S., one would think they'd have found out about such a bird by now if it actually existed.existed.
* Chinese folklore gives us the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peng_(mythology) Peng]], which has been regarded as a synonym of the Roc by some translators of its original description in the Daoist classic ''Zhuangzi''. According to this account, it has a back which "measures I don't know how many thousand ''li'' across" and wings "like clouds all over the sky", and transforms from a fish called the ''Kun''. The original account heavily contrasts the Peng with the dramatically smaller dove and quail, the latter of which sees the Peng flying south and wonders where it is going.
* The Garuda of Hindu mythology is sometimes depicted as a gigantic bird of prey, large enough to serve as a flying mount of Vishnu; other depictions showcase it as being noticeably smaller and [[BirdPeople with a mix of human and avian features]]. It's included here because it's sometimes described to be the king of birds, like the Ziz listed above, and also because its Chinese name translates to "Great Peng, the Golden-Winged Illumination King", referring to the Peng bird also listed above.
* Polynesian lore has the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poukai Poukai]], a massive eagle sometimes capable of preying on humans, which is depicted in early rock-shelter paintings in South Canterbury. Unlike most of the above examples, it actually does have a real-world precedent in the form of the now-extinct [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haast%27s_eagle Haast's eagle]], which did not become extinct until around two hundred years after the arrival of the native Māori and, being built for taking down 500-pound moa birds, could easily add small children to its menu.
* Chinese folklore gives us the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peng_(mythology) Peng]], which has been regarded as a synonym of the Roc by some translators of its original description in the Daoist classic ''Zhuangzi''. According to this account, it has a back which "measures I don't know how many thousand ''li'' across" and wings "like clouds all over the sky", and transforms from a fish called the ''Kun''. The original account heavily contrasts the Peng with the dramatically smaller dove and quail, the latter of which sees the Peng flying south and wonders where it is going.
* The Garuda of Hindu mythology is sometimes depicted as a gigantic bird of prey, large enough to serve as a flying mount of Vishnu; other depictions showcase it as being noticeably smaller and [[BirdPeople with a mix of human and avian features]]. It's included here because it's sometimes described to be the king of birds, like the Ziz listed above, and also because its Chinese name translates to "Great Peng, the Golden-Winged Illumination King", referring to the Peng bird also listed above.
* Polynesian lore has the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poukai Poukai]], a massive eagle sometimes capable of preying on humans, which is depicted in early rock-shelter paintings in South Canterbury. Unlike most of the above examples, it actually does have a real-world precedent in the form of the now-extinct [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haast%27s_eagle Haast's eagle]], which did not become extinct until around two hundred years after the arrival of the native Māori and, being built for taking down 500-pound moa birds, could easily add small children to its menu.
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* ''VideoGame/SaiyukiJourneyWest'': The villain Garda is heavily inspired by the Garuda bird of Hindu lore. While her normal form is a silver/red-haired girl with red wings on her back, her true Devil form is a gigantic fiery bird that better fits the spirit of this trope.
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While this trope most often refers to the roc bird itself, other mythical giant birds of prey of a similar nature from other nationalities may also fall under this trope, with examples including the Native American [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thunderbird_(mythology) Thunderbird], the Jewish [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ziz Ziz], the Hindu [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garuda Garuda], or the Chinese [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peng_(mythology) Peng].
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* A less well-known but arguably even more impressive bird is the Ziz of Jewish mythology, said to be large enough to be able to block out the sun with its wingspan. As Behemoth is the said to be king of land creatures and [[KrakenAndLeviathan Leviathan]] the king of sea creatures, so is Ziz said to be the king of birds. A similar role is ascribed by rabbis to the weirder-looking Simurgh of Persian lore, a MixAndMatchCritter which has the body of a peacock and the head of a dog.
* The Thunderbird, as seen in various Native American mythologies, is similar in nature to the Roc, but also carries supernatural power often related to storms. So massive is it that it is said to create thunder by flapping its wings, and some accounts depict them hunting whales, which try to drown the birds by diving once they've been grabbed. In cryptozoology, the Thunderbird has since been appropriated to refer to rumored sightings of giant flying birds in the skies above North America, with theories ranging from misinterpretations of existing birds of prey to late-surviving [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teratornithidae teratorns] and even [[PteroSoarer pterosaurs]] that have somehow escaped extinction. Generally, though, the notion of a giant undiscovered bird of prey has been dismissed as unlikely - with so many birdwatchers in the U.S., one would think they'd have found out about such a bird by now if it actually existed.
* The Thunderbird, as seen in various Native American mythologies, is similar in nature to the Roc, but also carries supernatural power often related to storms. So massive is it that it is said to create thunder by flapping its wings, and some accounts depict them hunting whales, which try to drown the birds by diving once they've been grabbed. In cryptozoology, the Thunderbird has since been appropriated to refer to rumored sightings of giant flying birds in the skies above North America, with theories ranging from misinterpretations of existing birds of prey to late-surviving [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teratornithidae teratorns] and even [[PteroSoarer pterosaurs]] that have somehow escaped extinction. Generally, though, the notion of a giant undiscovered bird of prey has been dismissed as unlikely - with so many birdwatchers in the U.S., one would think they'd have found out about such a bird by now if it actually existed.
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[[folder:Web Comics]]
* In ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'', a drunken wizard teleports the Order into a roc's nest. Fortunately, the roc eats the wizard first, becomes drunk itself, and passes out. In [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots1049.html a later strip]], when the characters are passing by airship through a high mountain pass, contains hazard signs warning of falling rocks and falling rocs.
* In ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'', a drunken wizard teleports the Order into a roc's nest. Fortunately, the roc eats the wizard first, becomes drunk itself, and passes out. In [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots1049.html a later strip]], when the characters are passing by airship through a high mountain pass, contains hazard signs warning of falling rocks and falling rocs.
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* In ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'', a drunken wizard teleports the Order into a roc's nest. Fortunately, the roc eats the wizard first, becomes drunk itself, and passes out. In [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots1049.html a later strip]], when the characters are passing by airship through a high mountain pass,
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** Rukhs appear as a separate, although related, type of creatures resembling giant two-headed vultures. Unlike their more predatory cousins, they are scavengers and hunters of small prey (which given their size still means things like camels and humans).
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** Rukhs appear as a separate, although related, type of creatures resembling giant two-headed vultures.vultures (a ShoutOut to the Creator/RayHarryhausen version from ''Film/The7thVoyageOfSinbad'' listed above). Unlike their more predatory cousins, they are scavengers and hunters of small prey (which given their size still means things like camels and humans).
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** Another extinct Madagascan bird, the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malagasy_crowned_eagle Malagasy crowned eagle]], may have also inspired the Roc myth. This large bird of prey had a wingspan of up to six feet, and was one of the chief apex predators of the island until going extinct by around 1500. They may have been mixed up with accounts of the aforementioned elephant birds, which over time, would have resulted in rumors of gargantuan eagle-like birds living on Madagascar.
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* In ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'', a drunken wizard teleports the Order into a roc's nest. Fortunately, the roc eats the wizard first, becomes drunk itself, and passes out.
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* In ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'', a drunken wizard teleports the Order into a roc's nest. Fortunately, the roc eats the wizard first, becomes drunk itself, and passes out. In [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots1049.html a later strip]], when the characters are passing by airship through a high mountain pass, contains hazard signs warning of falling rocks and falling rocs.
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* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'': Rocs have appeared since the game's first edition as birds of prey large enough to carry off elephants in their claws. ''TabletopGame/AlQadim'' also includes two-headed rocs.
** They are often associated with [[OurGiantsAreBigger giants]], who sometimes tame them as aerial mounts, although wild rocs will sometimes hunt giants. In fact, 5th edition lore says the giants' chief god Annam created them as air support in the giants' war against the dragons.
** In 4th Edition, rocs are identified as natural creatures with elemental relatives, such as ThePhoenix and the Thunderhawk (based on the Native American Thunderbird).
** They are often associated with [[OurGiantsAreBigger giants]], who sometimes tame them as aerial mounts, although wild rocs will sometimes hunt giants. In fact, 5th edition lore says the giants' chief god Annam created them as air support in the giants' war against the dragons.
** In 4th Edition, rocs are identified as natural creatures with elemental relatives, such as ThePhoenix and the Thunderhawk (based on the Native American Thunderbird).
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* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'': Rocs have appeared since the game's first edition as birds of prey large enough to carry off elephants in their claws. ''TabletopGame/AlQadim'' also includes two-headed rocs.
**rocs. They are often associated with [[OurGiantsAreBigger giants]], who sometimes tame them as aerial mounts, although wild rocs will sometimes hunt giants. In fact, 5th edition lore says the giants' chief god Annam created them as air support in the giants' war against the dragons.
**dragons. In 4th Edition, rocs are identified as natural creatures with elemental relatives, such as ThePhoenix and the Thunderhawk (based on the Native American Thunderbird).
**
**
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** Historically, supposed roc feathers were often given as gifts to kings. Marco Polo claimed to have seen one given to Kublai Khan and describes them in his accounts as being twice the width of a man's hand. Many believe that these were probably actually the leaves of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raffia_palm the raffia palm]].
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* Historically, supposed roc feathers were often given as gifts to kings. Marco Polo claimed to have seen one given to Kublai Khan and describes them in his accounts as being twice the width of a man's hand. Many believe that these were probably actually the leaves of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raffia_palm the raffia palm]].
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[[folder:Real Life]]
* Obviously, no flying bird in real life approaches the size of the mythical Roc. However, there is a theory that the myth was inspired by sightings of the extinct [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elephant_bird elephant bird]] of Madagascar, which died out around the year 1200. The name "elephant bird" even comes from Marco Polo's description of a giant bird on Madagascar big enough to carry off an elephant. Elephant birds, of course, could not fly, but they could have been mistaken for the babies of a much larger bird.
[[/folder]]
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* ''Webcomic/YetAnotherFantasyGamerComic'': In the ArabianNightsDays part of the comic, while crossing the desert, a roc captures princess Sahar and [[https://yafgc.net/comic/1486-indignant/ bring her to its aerie.]] This roc happens to be two-headed and sapient (as well as chatty).
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** ''Franchise/FinalFantasyIX'': Rocs are giant birds with spikes running down their backs and bellies and long bony tails, and are very powerful and dangerous enemies. They come in a number of varieties besides the basic grey roc, including ones named after the ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gastornis Diatryma]]'', the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vermilion_Bird suzaku]] and the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oozlum_bird ouzelum bird]].
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** ''Franchise/FinalFantasyIX'': ''Videogame/FinalFantasyIX'': Rocs are giant birds with spikes running down their backs and bellies and long bony tails, and are very powerful and dangerous enemies. They come in a number of varieties besides the basic grey roc, including ones named after the ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gastornis Diatryma]]'', the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vermilion_Bird suzaku]] and the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oozlum_bird ouzelum bird]].
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* ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'': In various games, you get the Zuu -- gigantic birdlike monsters -- as {{random encounter}}s. The Rukh are a more powerful {{palette swap}}ped Zuu.
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* ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'': ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'':
** In various games, you get the Zuu -- gigantic birdlike monsters -- as {{random encounter}}s. The Rukh are a more powerful {{palette swap}}pedZuu.Zuu.
** ''Franchise/FinalFantasyIX'': Rocs are giant birds with spikes running down their backs and bellies and long bony tails, and are very powerful and dangerous enemies. They come in a number of varieties besides the basic grey roc, including ones named after the ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gastornis Diatryma]]'', the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vermilion_Bird suzaku]] and the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oozlum_bird ouzelum bird]].
** In various games, you get the Zuu -- gigantic birdlike monsters -- as {{random encounter}}s. The Rukh are a more powerful {{palette swap}}ped
** ''Franchise/FinalFantasyIX'': Rocs are giant birds with spikes running down their backs and bellies and long bony tails, and are very powerful and dangerous enemies. They come in a number of varieties besides the basic grey roc, including ones named after the ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gastornis Diatryma]]'', the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vermilion_Bird suzaku]] and the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oozlum_bird ouzelum bird]].
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See also RentAZilla, GiantFlyer, FeatheredFiend and KidnappingBirdOfPrey. Not to be confused with the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rook_(bird) rook]], a RealLife crow-like bird from Eurasia.
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See also RentAZilla, GiantFlyer, FeatheredFiend and KidnappingBirdOfPrey. Not to be confused with the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rook_(bird) rook]], a RealLife crow-like bird from Eurasia.
Eurasia (although the chess piece known as the rook may have been inspired by the roc).
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* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'': Rocs have appeared since the game's first edition as birds of prey large enough to carry off elephants in their claws. They are often associated with [[OurGiantsAreBigger giants]], who sometimes tame them as aerial mounts, although wild rocs will sometimes hunt giants. In fact, 5th edition lore says the giants' chief god Annam created them as air support in the giants' war against the dragons. ''TabletopGame/AlQadim'' also includes two-headed rocs.
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* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'': Rocs have appeared since the game's first edition as birds of prey large enough to carry off elephants in their claws. ''TabletopGame/AlQadim'' also includes two-headed rocs.
** They are often associated with [[OurGiantsAreBigger giants]], who sometimes tame them as aerial mounts, although wild rocs will sometimes hunt giants. In fact, 5th edition lore says the giants' chief god Annam created them as air support in the giants' war against the dragons. ''TabletopGame/AlQadim'' also includes two-headed rocs.
** They are often associated with [[OurGiantsAreBigger giants]], who sometimes tame them as aerial mounts, although wild rocs will sometimes hunt giants. In fact, 5th edition lore says the giants' chief god Annam created them as air support in the giants' war against the dragons.
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* ''Film/The7thVoyageOfSinbad'' features a two-headed roc.
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* ''Film/The7thVoyageOfSinbad'' features a two-headed roc.roc brought to life by Creator/RayHarryhausen's stop-motion effects.
** Historically, supposed roc feathers were often given as gifts to kings. Marco Polo claimed to have seen one given to Kublai Khan and describes them in his accounts as being twice the width of a man's hand. Many believe that these were probably actually the leaves of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raffia_palm the raffia palm]].
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* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'': Rocs have appeared since the game's first edition as birds of prey large enough to carry off elephants in their claws. ''TabletopGame/AlQadim'' also includes two-headed rocs.
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* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'': Rocs have appeared since the game's first edition as birds of prey large enough to carry off elephants in their claws. They are often associated with [[OurGiantsAreBigger giants]], who sometimes tame them as aerial mounts, although wild rocs will sometimes hunt giants. In fact, 5th edition lore says the giants' chief god Annam created them as air support in the giants' war against the dragons. ''TabletopGame/AlQadim'' also includes two-headed rocs.rocs.
** In 4th Edition, rocs are identified as natural creatures with elemental relatives, such as ThePhoenix and the Thunderhawk (based on the Native American Thunderbird).
** In 4th Edition, rocs are identified as natural creatures with elemental relatives, such as ThePhoenix and the Thunderhawk (based on the Native American Thunderbird).
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Fixed damaged indenting.
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* ''Literature/TheArabianNights'' is the TropeCodifier: while rocs appear in many older legends, this is the work where the most widely known and referenced story featuring them -- that of the voyages of Literature/SinbadTheSailor -- was penned. The roc appears in two specific parts of the story:
** In Sinbad's second voyage, he becomes stranded on an island inhabited by rocs. He escapes by attaching himself to one of the enormous birds when it flies away and lets it carry him to the mainland, where it lands after reaching a valley home to monstrous snakes large enough to swallow an eephant whole -- these snakes being the rocs' main prey.
** In Sinbad's fifth voyage, he and his crew land on an island where they discover a gigantic roc egg taller than a man. They break it despite Sinbad's warnings, and the unborn chick provides enough meat to feed the whole crew. This comes to bite the crew shortly thereafter when they try to leave: the furious parents chase them and bombard their ship with massive boulders, sinking it.
** In Sinbad's second voyage, he becomes stranded on an island inhabited by rocs. He escapes by attaching himself to one of the enormous birds when it flies away and lets it carry him to the mainland, where it lands after reaching a valley home to monstrous snakes large enough to swallow an eephant whole -- these snakes being the rocs' main prey.
** In Sinbad's fifth voyage, he and his crew land on an island where they discover a gigantic roc egg taller than a man. They break it despite Sinbad's warnings, and the unborn chick provides enough meat to feed the whole crew. This comes to bite the crew shortly thereafter when they try to leave: the furious parents chase them and bombard their ship with massive boulders, sinking it.
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* ''Literature/TheArabianNights'' is the TropeCodifier: while rocs appear in many older legends, this is the work where the most widely known and referenced story featuring them -- that of the voyages of Literature/SinbadTheSailor -- was penned. The penned.
** Within the story of Sinbad himself, the roc appears in two specificparts of the story:
**parts:
*** In Sinbad's second voyage, he becomes stranded on an island inhabited by rocs. He escapes by attaching himself to one of the enormous birds when it flies away and lets it carry him to the mainland, where it lands after reaching a valley home to monstrous snakes large enough to swallow an eephant whole -- these snakes being the rocs' main prey.
** *** In Sinbad's fifth voyage, he and his crew land on an island where they discover a gigantic roc egg taller than a man. They break it despite Sinbad's warnings, and the unborn chick provides enough meat to feed the whole crew. This comes to bite the crew shortly thereafter when they try to leave: the furious parents chase them and bombard their ship with massive boulders, sinking it.
** Within the story of Sinbad himself, the roc appears in two specific
**
*** In Sinbad's second voyage, he becomes stranded on an island inhabited by rocs. He escapes by attaching himself to one of the enormous birds when it flies away and lets it carry him to the mainland, where it lands after reaching a valley home to monstrous snakes large enough to swallow an eephant whole -- these snakes being the rocs' main prey.
Changed line(s) 62,66 (click to see context) from:
* Rocs originate in Middle Eastern folklore, where they're often depicted as nesting on remote islands, either on a large island to the south, usually identified as Madagascar, or in the seas around China.
** Madagascar, in particular, is linked to a possible origin for the roc myth. Travelers to that area, which in the Middle Ages was at the very southern edge of the explored Arab world, could have encountered flightless [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elephant_bird elephant birds]], the largest birds to live in modern times, until these went extinct at the start of the second millennium. As elephant birds, like most flightless birds, are rather neotenic in appearance (i.e., they retain a lot of features normally associated with young animals), those travelers might have concluded that these must be the ugly, three-meters-tall, flightless chicks of a truly ginormous bird.
[[/folder]]
** Madagascar, in particular, is linked to a possible origin for the roc myth. Travelers to that area, which in the Middle Ages was at the very southern edge of the explored Arab world, could have encountered flightless [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elephant_bird elephant birds]], the largest birds to live in modern times, until these went extinct at the start of the second millennium. As elephant birds, like most flightless birds, are rather neotenic in appearance (i.e., they retain a lot of features normally associated with young animals), those travelers might have concluded that these must be the ugly, three-meters-tall, flightless chicks of a truly ginormous bird.
[[/folder]]
to:
* Rocs originate in Middle Eastern folklore, where they're often depicted as nesting on remote islands, either on a large island to the south, usually identified as Madagascar, or in the seas around China.
**China. Madagascar, in particular, is linked to a possible origin for the roc myth. Travelers to that area, which in the Middle Ages was at the very southern edge of the explored Arab world, could have encountered flightless [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elephant_bird elephant birds]], the largest birds to live in modern times, until these went extinct at the start of the second millennium. As elephant birds, like most flightless birds, are rather neotenic in appearance (i.e., they retain a lot of features normally associated with young animals), those travelers might have concluded that these must be the ugly, three-meters-tall, flightless chicks of a truly ginormous bird.
bird.
[[/folder]]
**
[[/folder]]
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
do the Arabian Nights really count as myth?
* ''Literature/TheArabianNights'' is the TropeCodifier: while rocs appear in many older legends, this is the work where the most widely known and referenced story featuring them -- that of the voyages of Literature/SinbadTheSailor -- was penned. The roc appears in two specific parts of the story:
** In Sinbad's second voyage, he becomes stranded on an island inhabited by rocs. He escapes by attaching himself to one of the enormous birds when it flies away and lets it carry him to the mainland, where it lands after reaching a valley home to monstrous snakes large enough to swallow an eephant whole -- these snakes being the rocs' main prey.
** In Sinbad's fifth voyage, he and his crew land on an island where they discover a gigantic roc egg taller than a man. They break it despite Sinbad's warnings, and the unborn chick provides enough meat to feed the whole crew. This comes to bite the crew shortly thereafter when they try to leave: the furious parents chase them and bombard their ship with massive boulders, sinking it.
** The Roc bird ("rukh" in Richard Burton's famous English translation), whose eggs are fifty feet broad and who is strong enough to carry a piece of mountain in his claws, also appears in "Abd Al-Rahman the Maghribi's Story of the Rukh".
** The original Aladdin story ends when the BigBad (the previous BigBad's brother) manipulates Aladdin's wife into thinking a roc's egg is the only decoration missing from their palace. Aladdin asks the genie of the lamp to get one, and the genie launches into a sudden vitriolic speech about how, after basically solving all of Aladdin's problems, he should now put his master in chains to serve as decoration. Exactly how an egg (or a giant bird, at that) can be a genie's master is never explained.
--->The genie gave such a loud and terrible shriek that the hall shook. "Wretch!" he cried, "is it not enough that I have done everything for you, but you must command me to bring my master and hang him up in the midst of this dome? You and your wife and your palace deserve to be burnt to ashes, but that this request does not come from you, but from the brother of the African magician, whom you destroyed. He is now in your palace disguised as the holy woman, whom he murdered. He it was who put that wish into your wife's head. Take care of yourself, for he means to kill you." So saying, the genie disappeared.
** In Sinbad's second voyage, he becomes stranded on an island inhabited by rocs. He escapes by attaching himself to one of the enormous birds when it flies away and lets it carry him to the mainland, where it lands after reaching a valley home to monstrous snakes large enough to swallow an eephant whole -- these snakes being the rocs' main prey.
** In Sinbad's fifth voyage, he and his crew land on an island where they discover a gigantic roc egg taller than a man. They break it despite Sinbad's warnings, and the unborn chick provides enough meat to feed the whole crew. This comes to bite the crew shortly thereafter when they try to leave: the furious parents chase them and bombard their ship with massive boulders, sinking it.
** The Roc bird ("rukh" in Richard Burton's famous English translation), whose eggs are fifty feet broad and who is strong enough to carry a piece of mountain in his claws, also appears in "Abd Al-Rahman the Maghribi's Story of the Rukh".
** The original Aladdin story ends when the BigBad (the previous BigBad's brother) manipulates Aladdin's wife into thinking a roc's egg is the only decoration missing from their palace. Aladdin asks the genie of the lamp to get one, and the genie launches into a sudden vitriolic speech about how, after basically solving all of Aladdin's problems, he should now put his master in chains to serve as decoration. Exactly how an egg (or a giant bird, at that) can be a genie's master is never explained.
--->The genie gave such a loud and terrible shriek that the hall shook. "Wretch!" he cried, "is it not enough that I have done everything for you, but you must command me to bring my master and hang him up in the midst of this dome? You and your wife and your palace deserve to be burnt to ashes, but that this request does not come from you, but from the brother of the African magician, whom you destroyed. He is now in your palace disguised as the holy woman, whom he murdered. He it was who put that wish into your wife's head. Take care of yourself, for he means to kill you." So saying, the genie disappeared.
Changed line(s) 58,63 (click to see context) from:
** ''Literature/TheThousandAndOneNights'' is the TropeCodifier: while rocs appear in many older legends, this is the work where the most widely known and referenced story featuring them -- that of the voyages of Literature/SinbadTheSailor -- was penned. The roc appears in two specific parts of the story:
*** In Sinbad's second voyage, he becomes stranded on an island inhabited by rocs. He escapes by attaching himself to one of the enormous birds when it flies away and lets it carry him to the mainland, where it lands after reaching a valley home to monstrous snakes large enough to swallow an elephant whole -- these snakes being the rocs' main prey.
*** In Sinbad's fifth voyage, he and his crew land on an island where they discover a gigantic roc egg taller than a man. They break it despite Sinbad's warnings, and the unborn chick provides enough meat to feed the whole crew. This comes to bite the crew shortly thereafter when they try to leave: the furious parents chase them and bombard their ship with massive boulders, sinking it.
** The Roc bird ("rukh" in Burton), whose eggs are fifty feet broad and who is strong enough to carry a piece of mountain in his claws, also appears in "Abd Al-Rahman the Maghribi's Story of the Rukh".
** The original Aladdin story ends when the BigBad (the previous BigBad's brother) manipulates Aladdin's wife into thinking a roc's egg is the only decoration missing from their palace. Aladdin asks the genie of the lamp to get one, and the genie launches into a sudden vitriolic speech about how, after basically solving all of Aladdin's problems, he should now put his master in chains to serve as decoration. Exactly how an egg (or a giant bird, at that) can be a genie's master is never explained.
--->The genie gave such a loud and terrible shriek that the hall shook. "Wretch!" he cried, "is it not enough that I have done everything for you, but you must command me to bring my master and hang him up in the midst of this dome? You and your wife and your palace deserve to be burnt to ashes, but that this request does not come from you, but from the brother of the African magician, whom you destroyed. He is now in your palace disguised as the holy woman, whom he murdered. He it was who put that wish into your wife's head. Take care of yourself, for he means to kill you." So saying, the genie disappeared.
*** In Sinbad's second voyage, he becomes stranded on an island inhabited by rocs. He escapes by attaching himself to one of the enormous birds when it flies away and lets it carry him to the mainland, where it lands after reaching a valley home to monstrous snakes large enough to swallow an elephant whole -- these snakes being the rocs' main prey.
*** In Sinbad's fifth voyage, he and his crew land on an island where they discover a gigantic roc egg taller than a man. They break it despite Sinbad's warnings, and the unborn chick provides enough meat to feed the whole crew. This comes to bite the crew shortly thereafter when they try to leave: the furious parents chase them and bombard their ship with massive boulders, sinking it.
** The Roc bird ("rukh" in Burton), whose eggs are fifty feet broad and who is strong enough to carry a piece of mountain in his claws, also appears in "Abd Al-Rahman the Maghribi's Story of the Rukh".
** The original Aladdin story ends when the BigBad (the previous BigBad's brother) manipulates Aladdin's wife into thinking a roc's egg is the only decoration missing from their palace. Aladdin asks the genie of the lamp to get one, and the genie launches into a sudden vitriolic speech about how, after basically solving all of Aladdin's problems, he should now put his master in chains to serve as decoration. Exactly how an egg (or a giant bird, at that) can be a genie's master is never explained.
--->The genie gave such a loud and terrible shriek that the hall shook. "Wretch!" he cried, "is it not enough that I have done everything for you, but you must command me to bring my master and hang him up in the midst of this dome? You and your wife and your palace deserve to be burnt to ashes, but that this request does not come from you, but from the brother of the African magician, whom you destroyed. He is now in your palace disguised as the holy woman, whom he murdered. He it was who put that wish into your wife's head. Take care of yourself, for he means to kill you." So saying, the genie disappeared.
to:
*** In Sinbad's second voyage, he becomes stranded on an island inhabited by rocs. He escapes by attaching himself to one of the enormous birds when it flies away and lets it carry him to the mainland, where it lands after reaching a valley home to monstrous snakes large enough to swallow an elephant whole -- these snakes being the rocs' main prey.
*** In Sinbad's fifth voyage, he and his crew land on an island where they discover a gigantic roc egg taller than a man. They break it despite Sinbad's warnings, and the unborn chick provides enough meat to feed the whole crew. This comes to bite the crew shortly thereafter when they try to leave: the furious parents chase them and bombard their ship with massive boulders, sinking it.
** The Roc bird ("rukh" in Burton), whose eggs are fifty feet broad and who is strong enough to carry a piece of mountain in his claws, also appears in "Abd Al-Rahman the Maghribi's Story of the Rukh".
** The original Aladdin story ends when the BigBad (the previous BigBad's brother) manipulates Aladdin's wife into thinking a roc's egg is the only decoration missing from their palace. Aladdin asks the genie of the lamp to get one, and the genie launches into a sudden vitriolic speech about how, after basically solving all of Aladdin's problems, he should now put his master in chains to serve as decoration. Exactly how an egg (or a giant bird, at that) can be a genie's master is never explained.
--->The genie gave such a loud and terrible shriek that the hall shook. "Wretch!" he cried, "is it not enough that I have done everything for you, but you must command me to bring my master and hang him up in the midst of this dome? You and your wife and your palace deserve to be burnt to ashes, but that this request does not come from you, but from the brother of the African magician, whom you destroyed. He is now in your palace disguised as the holy woman, whom he murdered. He it was who put that wish into your wife's head. Take care of yourself, for he means to kill you." So saying, the genie disappeared.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
* ''Fanfic/MegamiNoHanabira'': One of [[GenkiGirl Sara's]] demons, though she ever only uses it once for the purpose of transporting her and her girlfriend Kaede: [[AwesomeButImpractical it's huge and imposing, but those same qualities make it a massive target]], as the two of them learn when every enemy on the battlefield turns their attention to it and shoot it out of the sky.
Deleted line(s) 35 (click to see context) :
* ''Fanfic/MegamiNoHanabira'': One of [[GenkiGirl Sara's]] demons, though she ever only uses it once for the purpose of transporting her and her girlfriend Kaede: [[AwesomeButImpractical it's huge and imposing, but those same qualities make it a massive target]], as the two of them learn when every enemy on the battlefield turns their attention to it and shoot it out of the sky.
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* ''Fanfic/MegamiNoHanabira'': One of [[GenkiGirl Sara's]] demons, though she ever only uses it once for the purpose of transporting her and her girlfriend Kaede: [[AwesomeButImpractical it's huge and imposing, but those same qualities make it a massive target]], as the two of them learn when every enemy on the battlefield turns their attention to it and shoot it out of the sky.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
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%%The examples in this page have been sorted by work of origin and alphabetized. Please add new examples in order -- thank you!
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%%The examples in this page have been sorted by work of origin and alphabetized. Please add new examples in order -- thank you!
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[[folder:Literature]]
* ''Literature/{{Baudolino}}'': Rocs are raised by the Hashashin, and used by the protagonists in their escape.
* ''[[Literature/OlogySeries Dragonology]]'': ''Monsterology'' includes the roc in the chapter dedicated to flying beasts. It's a raptorial bird large enough to carry off an elephant in one talon, is native to the Arabian peninsula, and is noted to have once been confused with the [[OurDragonsAreDifferent wyvern]], the largest dragon in the books.
* ''Literature/TheGoatNamedIvanIvanovich'', from the ''Literature/AliceGirlFromTheFuture'' series, has Alice, during her travel to TheAgeOfMyth, sail with Sinbad the Sailor on a route where it is rumored they might meet a Roc. They do meet... an albatross, which people of that time do apparently call a Roc, and which Sinbad handles easily by throwing it some fish. Then the sequel, ''Literature/LilacSphere'', features [[RealAfterAll a real Roc]] and its egg.
* ''Literature/KnownSpace'': The short story "Safe at Any Speed" features rocs in the form of gigantic alien birds large enough to swallow a car whole.
* ''Literature/{{Redwall}}'': While not called a roc, the Wild King [=MacPhearsome=] (an eagle) fits the image, what with the otter protagonist being the size of his ''leg''. He guards the FlowerFromTheMountaintop, and actually flies the otter back to Redwall Abbey in time to save everyone from a plague.
* In ''Literature/TheTravelsOfMarcoPolo'', in what is quite possibly one of the earliest accounts of the creatures in Europe, Marco Polo describes rocs as eagle-like birds from Madagascar so large that their feathers alone are twelve paces long. They hunt by gripping elephants in their talons and dropping them to ground, before swooping down to feed on the smashed remains.
[[/folder]]
* ''Literature/{{Baudolino}}'': Rocs are raised by the Hashashin, and used by the protagonists in their escape.
* ''[[Literature/OlogySeries Dragonology]]'': ''Monsterology'' includes the roc in the chapter dedicated to flying beasts. It's a raptorial bird large enough to carry off an elephant in one talon, is native to the Arabian peninsula, and is noted to have once been confused with the [[OurDragonsAreDifferent wyvern]], the largest dragon in the books.
* ''Literature/TheGoatNamedIvanIvanovich'', from the ''Literature/AliceGirlFromTheFuture'' series, has Alice, during her travel to TheAgeOfMyth, sail with Sinbad the Sailor on a route where it is rumored they might meet a Roc. They do meet... an albatross, which people of that time do apparently call a Roc, and which Sinbad handles easily by throwing it some fish. Then the sequel, ''Literature/LilacSphere'', features [[RealAfterAll a real Roc]] and its egg.
* ''Literature/KnownSpace'': The short story "Safe at Any Speed" features rocs in the form of gigantic alien birds large enough to swallow a car whole.
* ''Literature/{{Redwall}}'': While not called a roc, the Wild King [=MacPhearsome=] (an eagle) fits the image, what with the otter protagonist being the size of his ''leg''. He guards the FlowerFromTheMountaintop, and actually flies the otter back to Redwall Abbey in time to save everyone from a plague.
* In ''Literature/TheTravelsOfMarcoPolo'', in what is quite possibly one of the earliest accounts of the creatures in Europe, Marco Polo describes rocs as eagle-like birds from Madagascar so large that their feathers alone are twelve paces long. They hunt by gripping elephants in their talons and dropping them to ground, before swooping down to feed on the smashed remains.
[[/folder]]
Deleted line(s) 51,59 (click to see context) :
[[folder:Literature]]
* ''Literature/{{Baudolino}}'': Rocs are raised by the Hashashin, and used by the protagonists in their escape.
* ''[[Literature/OlogySeries Dragonology]]'': ''Monsterology'' includes the roc in the chapter dedicated to flying beasts. It's a raptorial bird large enough to carry off an elephant in one talon, is native to the Arabian peninsula, and is noted to have once been confused with the [[OurDragonsAreDifferent wyvern]], the largest dragon in the books.
* ''Literature/TheGoatNamedIvanIvanovich'', from the ''Literature/AliceGirlFromTheFuture'' series, has Alice, during her travel to TheAgeOfMyth, sail with Sinbad the Sailor on a route where it is rumored they might meet a Roc. They do meet... an albatross, which people of that time do apparently call a Roc, and which Sinbad handles easily by throwing it some fish. Then the sequel, ''Literature/LilacSphere'', features [[RealAfterAll a real Roc]] and its egg.
* ''Literature/KnownSpace'': The short story "Safe at Any Speed" features rocs in the form of gigantic alien birds large enough to swallow a car whole.
* ''Literature/{{Redwall}}'': While not called a roc, the Wild King [=MacPhearsome=] (an eagle) fits the image, what with the otter protagonist being the size of his ''leg''. He guards the FlowerFromTheMountaintop, and actually flies the otter back to Redwall Abbey in time to save everyone from a plague.
* In ''Literature/TheTravelsOfMarcoPolo'', in what is quite possibly one of the earliest accounts of the creatures in Europe, Marco Polo describes rocs as eagle-like birds from Madagascar so large that their feathers alone are twelve paces long. They hunt by gripping elephants in their talons and dropping them to ground, before swooping down to feed on the smashed remains.
[[/folder]]
* ''Literature/{{Baudolino}}'': Rocs are raised by the Hashashin, and used by the protagonists in their escape.
* ''[[Literature/OlogySeries Dragonology]]'': ''Monsterology'' includes the roc in the chapter dedicated to flying beasts. It's a raptorial bird large enough to carry off an elephant in one talon, is native to the Arabian peninsula, and is noted to have once been confused with the [[OurDragonsAreDifferent wyvern]], the largest dragon in the books.
* ''Literature/TheGoatNamedIvanIvanovich'', from the ''Literature/AliceGirlFromTheFuture'' series, has Alice, during her travel to TheAgeOfMyth, sail with Sinbad the Sailor on a route where it is rumored they might meet a Roc. They do meet... an albatross, which people of that time do apparently call a Roc, and which Sinbad handles easily by throwing it some fish. Then the sequel, ''Literature/LilacSphere'', features [[RealAfterAll a real Roc]] and its egg.
* ''Literature/KnownSpace'': The short story "Safe at Any Speed" features rocs in the form of gigantic alien birds large enough to swallow a car whole.
* ''Literature/{{Redwall}}'': While not called a roc, the Wild King [=MacPhearsome=] (an eagle) fits the image, what with the otter protagonist being the size of his ''leg''. He guards the FlowerFromTheMountaintop, and actually flies the otter back to Redwall Abbey in time to save everyone from a plague.
* In ''Literature/TheTravelsOfMarcoPolo'', in what is quite possibly one of the earliest accounts of the creatures in Europe, Marco Polo describes rocs as eagle-like birds from Madagascar so large that their feathers alone are twelve paces long. They hunt by gripping elephants in their talons and dropping them to ground, before swooping down to feed on the smashed remains.
[[/folder]]
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Changed line(s) 9,10 (click to see context) from:
These creatures are especially likely to appear in stories associated with Sinbad the Sailor. Humor may sometimes be derived from the similarity between the words "roc" and "rock", whether in the form of rocs [[RockMonster made out of actual rocks]] or characters confusing one word for the other.
to:
These creatures are especially likely to appear in stories associated with Sinbad the Sailor. [[FunWithHomophones Humor may sometimes be derived from the similarity between the words "roc" and "rock", "rock"]], whether in the form of rocs [[RockMonster made out of actual rocks]] or characters confusing one word for the other.
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Changed line(s) 92 (click to see context) from:
* ''WesternAnimation/AladdinTheSeries'': In one episode, the villain Abis Mal uses magical feathers from a baby roc to turn his men into walking tornadoes and loot Agrabah (and indirectly frames Aladdin's friend Abu), so Aladdin tries to free the baby roc and sends Genie to find the mother. There's also running gag where people keep mistaking "roc" and "rock" in conversation.
to:
* ''WesternAnimation/AladdinTheSeries'': In one episode, the villain Abis Mal uses magical feathers from a baby roc to turn his men into walking tornadoes and loot Agrabah (and indirectly frames Aladdin's friend Abu), so Aladdin tries to free the baby roc and sends Genie to find the mother. There's also running gag RunningGag where people [[FunWithHomophones keep mistaking "roc" and "rock" in conversation.conversation]].
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None
Changed line(s) 1,2 (click to see context) from:
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/edward_julius_detmold49.jpg]]
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[[folder:Fanfic]]
to:
Changed line(s) 26 (click to see context) from:
* ''FanFic/ThePalaververse'': Rocs, in the tradition of the show's pun-based creatures, are literally made of living rock. Some tribes of Diamond Jackals hollow them out into living, flying fortresses.
to:
* ''FanFic/ThePalaververse'': ''Fanfic/ThePalaververse'': Rocs, in the tradition of the show's pun-based creatures, are literally made of living rock. Some tribes of Diamond Jackals hollow them out into living, flying fortresses.
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[[folder:Film -- Animated]]
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[[folder:Film -- Live-Action]]
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[[folder:Folklore and Mythology]]
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Changed line(s) 40 (click to see context) from:
** ''Literature/TheThousandAndOneNights'' is the TropeCodifier: while rocs appear in many older legends, this is the work where the most widely known and referenced story featuring them -- that of the voyages of Sinbad the Sailor -- was penned. The roc appears in two specific parts of the story:
to:
** ''Literature/TheThousandAndOneNights'' is the TropeCodifier: while rocs appear in many older legends, this is the work where the most widely known and referenced story featuring them -- that of the voyages of Sinbad the Sailor Literature/SinbadTheSailor -- was penned. The roc appears in two specific parts of the story:
Deleted line(s) 57,60 (click to see context) :
[[folder:Let's Play]]
* LetsPlay/{{Chuggaaconroy}}: Invoked in the ''VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite'' playthrough, where Chugga named his Archeops after this bird.
[[/folder]]
* LetsPlay/{{Chuggaaconroy}}: Invoked in the ''VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite'' playthrough, where Chugga named his Archeops after this bird.
[[/folder]]
Changed line(s) 63 (click to see context) from:
* ''TabletopGame/{{Pathfinder}}'': Rocs are highly territorial, mountain-nesting raptors that grow so large that they can dwarf full-grown dragons. They typically hunt by snatching up their prey, carrying them high into the air and dropping them to ground, before flying down to eat the remains. Roc eggs fetch tremendous prices and are especially prized by cloud and storm giants, who use the giant birds as guard animals and [[HorseOfADifferentColor flying mounts]].
to:
* ''TabletopGame/{{Pathfinder}}'': ''TabletopGame/{{Pathfinder}}'':
** Rocs are highly territorial, mountain-nesting raptors that grow so large that they can dwarf full-grown dragons. They typically hunt by snatching up their prey, carrying them high into the air and dropping them to ground, before flying down to eat the remains. Roc eggs fetch tremendous prices and are especially prized by cloud and storm giants, who use the giant birds as guard animals and [[HorseOfADifferentColor flying mounts]].
** Rocs are highly territorial, mountain-nesting raptors that grow so large that they can dwarf full-grown dragons. They typically hunt by snatching up their prey, carrying them high into the air and dropping them to ground, before flying down to eat the remains. Roc eggs fetch tremendous prices and are especially prized by cloud and storm giants, who use the giant birds as guard animals and [[HorseOfADifferentColor flying mounts]].
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[[folder:Videogames]]
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[[folder:Webcomics]]
* In ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'', a drunken wizard teleported the order into a roc's nest. Fortunately, the roc ate the wizard first, became drunk itself, and passed out.
* In ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'', a drunken wizard teleported the order into a roc's nest. Fortunately, the roc ate the wizard first, became drunk itself, and passed out.
to:
* In ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'', a drunken wizard
[[folder:Web Videos]]
* LetsPlay/{{Chuggaaconroy}}: Invoked in the ''VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite'' playthrough, where Chugga named his Archeops after this bird.
[[/folder]]
* LetsPlay/{{Chuggaaconroy}}: Invoked in the ''VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite'' playthrough, where Chugga named his Archeops after this bird.
[[/folder]]
Changed line(s) 88 (click to see context) from:
* ''WesternAnimation/AladdinTheSeries'': In one episode, the villain Abis Mal uses magical feathers from a baby roc to turn his men into walking tornadoes and loot Agrabah (and indirectly frames Aladdin's friend Abu), so Aladdin tires to free the baby roc and sends Genie to find the mother. There's also running gag where people keep mistaking "roc" and "rock" in conversation.
to:
* ''WesternAnimation/AladdinTheSeries'': In one episode, the villain Abis Mal uses magical feathers from a baby roc to turn his men into walking tornadoes and loot Agrabah (and indirectly frames Aladdin's friend Abu), so Aladdin tires tries to free the baby roc and sends Genie to find the mother. There's also running gag where people keep mistaking "roc" and "rock" in conversation.
Changed line(s) 90,92 (click to see context) from:
-->'''Smolder:''' That molt stench is a magnet for predators. Tatzlwurms, hydras, rocs...
-->'''Spike:''' Dragons are scared of rocks?
-->'''Smolder:''' R-O-C-S. Rocs? Humongous birds of prey that can snack on a molting dragon like candy!
-->'''Spike:''' Dragons are scared of rocks?
-->'''Smolder:''' R-O-C-S. Rocs? Humongous birds of prey that can snack on a molting dragon like candy!
to:
-->'''Smolder:''' That molt stench is a magnet for predators. Tatzlwurms, hydras, rocs...
-->'''Spike:'''rocs...\\
'''Spike:''' Dragons are scared ofrocks?
-->'''Smolder:'''rocks?\\
'''Smolder:''' R-O-C-S. Rocs? Humongous birds of prey that can snack on a molting dragon like candy!
-->'''Spike:'''
'''Spike:''' Dragons are scared of
-->'''Smolder:'''
'''Smolder:''' R-O-C-S. Rocs? Humongous birds of prey that can snack on a molting dragon like candy!
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[[folder:Webcomics]]
* In ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'', a drunken wizard teleported the order into a roc's nest. Fortunately, the roc ate the wizard first, became drunk itself, and passed out.
[[/folder]]
* In ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'', a drunken wizard teleported the order into a roc's nest. Fortunately, the roc ate the wizard first, became drunk itself, and passed out.
[[/folder]]
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
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[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/edward_julius_detmold49.jpg]]
A very specific form of GiantFlyer hailing from Arabic and Persian folklore, the roc (sometimes spelled ruk or rukh) typically takes the form of an eagle of stupefying size. Rocs are universally much bigger than the usual brand of [[GiantFlyer predatory flying monsters]], which tend to be "merely" big enough to carry off a man in their talons. The rocs' size is usually brought to deliberate extremes; generally, they are in the same size range as flying dragons or airplanes.
The rocs' mind-boggling dimensions are sometimes used to emphasize the strangeness, wonder and exoticness of the areas they are found in -- something so huge, such as vast and exaggerated version of a common animal, is so unlike anything one could find in a normal, familiar setting that the presence of a roc leaves no doubt that the story has crossed into somewhere strange and wondrous. As such, rocs are often placed in unexplored areas ripe for adventure stories -- the IslandOfMystery is a particularly common nesting spot -- especially ones tied to ArabianNightsDays, SimSimSalabim and neighboring locations in the HollywoodAtlas.
Their size also allows rocs to play an exaggerated version of the role of the KidnappingBirdOfPrey; they traditionally prey on large animals, from cattle and rhinoceri up to elephants and whales, [[AlwaysABiggerFish and may sometimes prey upon other large monsters]]. They rarely target individual human-sized characters due the sheer size difference, but may easily be able to carry away an entire ship or boat in their talons.
These creatures are especially likely to appear in stories associated with Sinbad the Sailor. Humor may sometimes be derived from the similarity between the words "roc" and "rock", whether in the form of rocs [[RockMonster made out of actual rocks]] or characters confusing one word for the other.
See also RentAZilla, GiantFlyer, FeatheredFiend and KidnappingBirdOfPrey. Not to be confused with the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rook_(bird) rook]], a RealLife crow-like bird from Eurasia.
----
[[foldercontrol]]
[[folder:Card Games]]
* ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'': Rocs have appeared throughout the history of the game as large and powerful Bird creatures. In later sets especially they tend to be depicted as enormous golden eagles.
** The first roc, [[https://scryfall.com/card/me4/132 Roc of Kher Ridges]], was released in the very first set ever printed.
** Two cards, [[https://scryfall.com/card/9ed/214/rukh-egg Rukh Egg]] and [[https://scryfall.com/card/m12/32/roc-egg Roc Egg]], depicted inert eggs (weak, 0/3 creatures in-game) that on dying and "breaking" open to create a much larger bird (a 4/4 and 3/3 creature with flying). The rukhs, also called "stonefeathers" and resembling bat-winged rocs, are supposed in-universe to descend from "a phoenix that sacrificed its flame for a body of stone".
** On Ravnica, rocs were among the creatures that managed to endure the plane becoming covered by [[CityPlanet a single, endless city]] far in the past. In the modern day [[https://scryfall.com/card/dgm/8 they perch on the world-city's spires instead]], occasionally tearing off whole roofs when they forget to loosen their claws when taking off; many are also used by the Boros Legion as [[HorseOfADifferentColor flying mounts]] and as a way of apprehending criminals by the simple means of [[https://scryfall.com/card/rtr/196 snatching them up in their talons and carrying them off into the sky]].
** Rocs are also found on the plane of Kaladesh, where [[https://scryfall.com/card/kld/3 at least some have four wings]].
** Tarkir has [[https://scryfall.com/card/ktk/31 its own native rocs]], which after the altering of the timeline [[https://scryfall.com/card/dtk/43 become competitors to the dragons]].
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Fanfic]]
* ''Fanfic/TheLifeAndTimesOfAWinningPony'': Rocs resemble an eagle twenty times larger than normal, and are fully capable of carrying off a grown pony in their talons.
* ''FanFic/ThePalaververse'': Rocs, in the tradition of the show's pun-based creatures, are literally made of living rock. Some tribes of Diamond Jackals hollow them out into living, flying fortresses.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Film -- Animated]]
* ''WesternAnimation/SinbadLegendOfTheSevenSeas'' features a rather creative take on the Roc -- depicted as one of [[BigBad Eris']] "pets", the Roc is a giant, [[OminousOwl owl-like]] monster that [[AnIcePerson can control ice]]. Its mere ''arrival'' on the island the crew shows up on changes it from a tropical paradise to a snowy tundra in seconds. Additionally, it's given claws on its wings not unlike those of a bat or a pterosaur, and it briefly uses those claws to crawl around with. According to WordOfGod, they researched real life snowy owls to get a feel for how the bird would look and move.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Film -- Live-Action]]
* ''Film/The7thVoyageOfSinbad'' features a two-headed roc.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Folklore and Mythology]]
* Rocs originate in Middle Eastern folklore, where they're often depicted as nesting on remote islands, either on a large island to the south, usually identified as Madagascar, or in the seas around China.
** Madagascar, in particular, is linked to a possible origin for the roc myth. Travelers to that area, which in the Middle Ages was at the very southern edge of the explored Arab world, could have encountered flightless [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elephant_bird elephant birds]], the largest birds to live in modern times, until these went extinct at the start of the second millennium. As elephant birds, like most flightless birds, are rather neotenic in appearance (i.e., they retain a lot of features normally associated with young animals), those travelers might have concluded that these must be the ugly, three-meters-tall, flightless chicks of a truly ginormous bird.
** ''Literature/TheThousandAndOneNights'' is the TropeCodifier: while rocs appear in many older legends, this is the work where the most widely known and referenced story featuring them -- that of the voyages of Sinbad the Sailor -- was penned. The roc appears in two specific parts of the story:
*** In Sinbad's second voyage, he becomes stranded on an island inhabited by rocs. He escapes by attaching himself to one of the enormous birds when it flies away and lets it carry him to the mainland, where it lands after reaching a valley home to monstrous snakes large enough to swallow an elephant whole -- these snakes being the rocs' main prey.
*** In Sinbad's fifth voyage, he and his crew land on an island where they discover a gigantic roc egg taller than a man. They break it despite Sinbad's warnings, and the unborn chick provides enough meat to feed the whole crew. This comes to bite the crew shortly thereafter when they try to leave: the furious parents chase them and bombard their ship with massive boulders, sinking it.
** The Roc bird ("rukh" in Burton), whose eggs are fifty feet broad and who is strong enough to carry a piece of mountain in his claws, also appears in "Abd Al-Rahman the Maghribi's Story of the Rukh".
** The original Aladdin story ends when the BigBad (the previous BigBad's brother) manipulates Aladdin's wife into thinking a roc's egg is the only decoration missing from their palace. Aladdin asks the genie of the lamp to get one, and the genie launches into a sudden vitriolic speech about how, after basically solving all of Aladdin's problems, he should now put his master in chains to serve as decoration. Exactly how an egg (or a giant bird, at that) can be a genie's master is never explained.
--->The genie gave such a loud and terrible shriek that the hall shook. "Wretch!" he cried, "is it not enough that I have done everything for you, but you must command me to bring my master and hang him up in the midst of this dome? You and your wife and your palace deserve to be burnt to ashes, but that this request does not come from you, but from the brother of the African magician, whom you destroyed. He is now in your palace disguised as the holy woman, whom he murdered. He it was who put that wish into your wife's head. Take care of yourself, for he means to kill you." So saying, the genie disappeared.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Literature]]
* ''Literature/{{Baudolino}}'': Rocs are raised by the Hashashin, and used by the protagonists in their escape.
* ''[[Literature/OlogySeries Dragonology]]'': ''Monsterology'' includes the roc in the chapter dedicated to flying beasts. It's a raptorial bird large enough to carry off an elephant in one talon, is native to the Arabian peninsula, and is noted to have once been confused with the [[OurDragonsAreDifferent wyvern]], the largest dragon in the books.
* ''Literature/TheGoatNamedIvanIvanovich'', from the ''Literature/AliceGirlFromTheFuture'' series, has Alice, during her travel to TheAgeOfMyth, sail with Sinbad the Sailor on a route where it is rumored they might meet a Roc. They do meet... an albatross, which people of that time do apparently call a Roc, and which Sinbad handles easily by throwing it some fish. Then the sequel, ''Literature/LilacSphere'', features [[RealAfterAll a real Roc]] and its egg.
* ''Literature/KnownSpace'': The short story "Safe at Any Speed" features rocs in the form of gigantic alien birds large enough to swallow a car whole.
* ''Literature/{{Redwall}}'': While not called a roc, the Wild King [=MacPhearsome=] (an eagle) fits the image, what with the otter protagonist being the size of his ''leg''. He guards the FlowerFromTheMountaintop, and actually flies the otter back to Redwall Abbey in time to save everyone from a plague.
* In ''Literature/TheTravelsOfMarcoPolo'', in what is quite possibly one of the earliest accounts of the creatures in Europe, Marco Polo describes rocs as eagle-like birds from Madagascar so large that their feathers alone are twelve paces long. They hunt by gripping elephants in their talons and dropping them to ground, before swooping down to feed on the smashed remains.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Let's Play]]
* LetsPlay/{{Chuggaaconroy}}: Invoked in the ''VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite'' playthrough, where Chugga named his Archeops after this bird.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'': Rocs have appeared since the game's first edition as birds of prey large enough to carry off elephants in their claws. ''TabletopGame/AlQadim'' also includes two-headed rocs.
* ''TabletopGame/{{Pathfinder}}'': Rocs are highly territorial, mountain-nesting raptors that grow so large that they can dwarf full-grown dragons. They typically hunt by snatching up their prey, carrying them high into the air and dropping them to ground, before flying down to eat the remains. Roc eggs fetch tremendous prices and are especially prized by cloud and storm giants, who use the giant birds as guard animals and [[HorseOfADifferentColor flying mounts]].
** Rukhs appear as a separate, although related, type of creatures resembling giant two-headed vultures. Unlike their more predatory cousins, they are scavengers and hunters of small prey (which given their size still means things like camels and humans).
** According to Qadiran worshippers of [[GodOfGood Sarenrae]], the first [[ThePhoenix phoenixes]] -- which in ''Pathfinder'' are around the same size as rocs -- were created when the goddess [[UpliftedAnimal awakened a flock of rocs to sapience]], blessing them with her fires when the newly intelligent birds pledged themselves to her service.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Videogames]]
* ''VideoGame/DwarfFortress'': Rocs are a type of megabeast, a group of extremely rare, large and powerful creatures that will attack you fortress when certain conditions are met and are generally capable of wrecking fortresses on their own. They are the third largest creatures in the game behind fully-grown dragons (which take fifty times as long to reach their full size) and giant sperm whales, and the biggest flying creatures of all. A newly hatched roc is as big as a fully-grown giant eagle.
* ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'': In various games, you get the Zuu -- gigantic birdlike monsters -- as {{random encounter}}s. The Rukh are a more powerful {{palette swap}}ped Zuu.
* ''Videogame/GoldenSun'':
** ''VideoGame/GoldenSunTheLostAge'': Rocs appear in the second game as common enemies, being merely man-sized birds.
** ''VideoGame/GoldenSunDarkDawn'': The Mountain Roc is large enough to carry off human prey when Amiti recalls indirectly encountering it as a child, to be worshipped as a god the nation of Morgal, to force the camera to zoom out during your boss fight against it (and you still don't get the whole thing on your screen) and that its gizzard acts as a WombLevel, albeit a short one.
* ''VideoGame/HeroesOfMightAndMagic3'' has Rocs as a Stronghold army creature (upgradeable to Thunderbird).
* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZelda'':
** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaLinksAwakening:'' The Roc itself never appears, but the Roc's Feather shows up as an item that allows the otherwise ground-bound Link to jump.
** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker'' has the Helmaroc King, a giant bird with a metal mask over its face that serves as Ganondorf's [[TheDragon Dragon]]. At the start of the game it kidnaps Link's sister Aryll, kicking off the main plot. There are also the Kargarocs, smaller (though still man-sized) {{mook}} variants of the same species.
* ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTensei'': Roc (sometimes Rukh) is frequently a demon in the series and its spinoffs. It is usually a member of the Avian or Flight race, and is usually portrayed as a giant bird with a rocky skin texture to emphasize its size, making it look like a flying mountain.
* ''VideoGame/SkiesOfArcadia'': One of the BonusBoss ship battles is against a Roc. It is large enough to dwarf Vyse's ship, the Delphinus, which is one of the largest craft in the game. You can also find it's nest nearby, a single egg from which is said to be enough to feed an entire town for a lunar cycle.
* ''VideoGame/SonicAndTheSecretRings'': The Rukhs double as a sky-based sort of TurtleIsland in that a civilization had been built on the backs of a flock of Rukhs in the past, each of them carrying roughly a city block's worth. Appropriately, they are found only in the stage known as [[LevelsTakeFlight Levitated]] [[RuinsForRuinsSake Ruin]].
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Western Animation]]
* ''WesternAnimation/AladdinTheSeries'': In one episode, the villain Abis Mal uses magical feathers from a baby roc to turn his men into walking tornadoes and loot Agrabah (and indirectly frames Aladdin's friend Abu), so Aladdin tires to free the baby roc and sends Genie to find the mother. There's also running gag where people keep mistaking "roc" and "rock" in conversation.
* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'': In "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS8E11MoltDown Molt Down]]", while in [[TheLostWoods the Everfree Forest]], the smell Spike is emitting as part of his molt attracts a roc; it promptly tries to eat him and the ponies he's with, strafing its ground-bound targets and trying to carry them off in its talons. It's stated that rocs, alongside hydras and [[SandWorm tatzlwurms]], are the biggest danger faced by young, molting dragons newly kicked out of their homes, tracking them down through the smell they produce and stopping at nearly nothing to devour them. There's also a moment of confusion early on when Smolder is explaining this to Spike, and he thinks she's talking about rocks instead.
-->'''Smolder:''' That molt stench is a magnet for predators. Tatzlwurms, hydras, rocs...
-->'''Spike:''' Dragons are scared of rocks?
-->'''Smolder:''' R-O-C-S. Rocs? Humongous birds of prey that can snack on a molting dragon like candy!
* In ''WesternAnimation/PopeyeTheSailorMeetsSindbadTheSailor'', Sindbad has a roc bird that he commands to sink Popeye's ship and bring Olive Oyl to him. Later, he commands it to kill Popeye, so the roc takes him to a volcano. Popeye returns with the roc on a giant plate, roasted with gravy.
[[/folder]]
----
A very specific form of GiantFlyer hailing from Arabic and Persian folklore, the roc (sometimes spelled ruk or rukh) typically takes the form of an eagle of stupefying size. Rocs are universally much bigger than the usual brand of [[GiantFlyer predatory flying monsters]], which tend to be "merely" big enough to carry off a man in their talons. The rocs' size is usually brought to deliberate extremes; generally, they are in the same size range as flying dragons or airplanes.
The rocs' mind-boggling dimensions are sometimes used to emphasize the strangeness, wonder and exoticness of the areas they are found in -- something so huge, such as vast and exaggerated version of a common animal, is so unlike anything one could find in a normal, familiar setting that the presence of a roc leaves no doubt that the story has crossed into somewhere strange and wondrous. As such, rocs are often placed in unexplored areas ripe for adventure stories -- the IslandOfMystery is a particularly common nesting spot -- especially ones tied to ArabianNightsDays, SimSimSalabim and neighboring locations in the HollywoodAtlas.
Their size also allows rocs to play an exaggerated version of the role of the KidnappingBirdOfPrey; they traditionally prey on large animals, from cattle and rhinoceri up to elephants and whales, [[AlwaysABiggerFish and may sometimes prey upon other large monsters]]. They rarely target individual human-sized characters due the sheer size difference, but may easily be able to carry away an entire ship or boat in their talons.
These creatures are especially likely to appear in stories associated with Sinbad the Sailor. Humor may sometimes be derived from the similarity between the words "roc" and "rock", whether in the form of rocs [[RockMonster made out of actual rocks]] or characters confusing one word for the other.
See also RentAZilla, GiantFlyer, FeatheredFiend and KidnappingBirdOfPrey. Not to be confused with the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rook_(bird) rook]], a RealLife crow-like bird from Eurasia.
----
[[foldercontrol]]
[[folder:Card Games]]
* ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'': Rocs have appeared throughout the history of the game as large and powerful Bird creatures. In later sets especially they tend to be depicted as enormous golden eagles.
** The first roc, [[https://scryfall.com/card/me4/132 Roc of Kher Ridges]], was released in the very first set ever printed.
** Two cards, [[https://scryfall.com/card/9ed/214/rukh-egg Rukh Egg]] and [[https://scryfall.com/card/m12/32/roc-egg Roc Egg]], depicted inert eggs (weak, 0/3 creatures in-game) that on dying and "breaking" open to create a much larger bird (a 4/4 and 3/3 creature with flying). The rukhs, also called "stonefeathers" and resembling bat-winged rocs, are supposed in-universe to descend from "a phoenix that sacrificed its flame for a body of stone".
** On Ravnica, rocs were among the creatures that managed to endure the plane becoming covered by [[CityPlanet a single, endless city]] far in the past. In the modern day [[https://scryfall.com/card/dgm/8 they perch on the world-city's spires instead]], occasionally tearing off whole roofs when they forget to loosen their claws when taking off; many are also used by the Boros Legion as [[HorseOfADifferentColor flying mounts]] and as a way of apprehending criminals by the simple means of [[https://scryfall.com/card/rtr/196 snatching them up in their talons and carrying them off into the sky]].
** Rocs are also found on the plane of Kaladesh, where [[https://scryfall.com/card/kld/3 at least some have four wings]].
** Tarkir has [[https://scryfall.com/card/ktk/31 its own native rocs]], which after the altering of the timeline [[https://scryfall.com/card/dtk/43 become competitors to the dragons]].
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Fanfic]]
* ''Fanfic/TheLifeAndTimesOfAWinningPony'': Rocs resemble an eagle twenty times larger than normal, and are fully capable of carrying off a grown pony in their talons.
* ''FanFic/ThePalaververse'': Rocs, in the tradition of the show's pun-based creatures, are literally made of living rock. Some tribes of Diamond Jackals hollow them out into living, flying fortresses.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Film -- Animated]]
* ''WesternAnimation/SinbadLegendOfTheSevenSeas'' features a rather creative take on the Roc -- depicted as one of [[BigBad Eris']] "pets", the Roc is a giant, [[OminousOwl owl-like]] monster that [[AnIcePerson can control ice]]. Its mere ''arrival'' on the island the crew shows up on changes it from a tropical paradise to a snowy tundra in seconds. Additionally, it's given claws on its wings not unlike those of a bat or a pterosaur, and it briefly uses those claws to crawl around with. According to WordOfGod, they researched real life snowy owls to get a feel for how the bird would look and move.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Film -- Live-Action]]
* ''Film/The7thVoyageOfSinbad'' features a two-headed roc.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Folklore and Mythology]]
* Rocs originate in Middle Eastern folklore, where they're often depicted as nesting on remote islands, either on a large island to the south, usually identified as Madagascar, or in the seas around China.
** Madagascar, in particular, is linked to a possible origin for the roc myth. Travelers to that area, which in the Middle Ages was at the very southern edge of the explored Arab world, could have encountered flightless [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elephant_bird elephant birds]], the largest birds to live in modern times, until these went extinct at the start of the second millennium. As elephant birds, like most flightless birds, are rather neotenic in appearance (i.e., they retain a lot of features normally associated with young animals), those travelers might have concluded that these must be the ugly, three-meters-tall, flightless chicks of a truly ginormous bird.
** ''Literature/TheThousandAndOneNights'' is the TropeCodifier: while rocs appear in many older legends, this is the work where the most widely known and referenced story featuring them -- that of the voyages of Sinbad the Sailor -- was penned. The roc appears in two specific parts of the story:
*** In Sinbad's second voyage, he becomes stranded on an island inhabited by rocs. He escapes by attaching himself to one of the enormous birds when it flies away and lets it carry him to the mainland, where it lands after reaching a valley home to monstrous snakes large enough to swallow an elephant whole -- these snakes being the rocs' main prey.
*** In Sinbad's fifth voyage, he and his crew land on an island where they discover a gigantic roc egg taller than a man. They break it despite Sinbad's warnings, and the unborn chick provides enough meat to feed the whole crew. This comes to bite the crew shortly thereafter when they try to leave: the furious parents chase them and bombard their ship with massive boulders, sinking it.
** The Roc bird ("rukh" in Burton), whose eggs are fifty feet broad and who is strong enough to carry a piece of mountain in his claws, also appears in "Abd Al-Rahman the Maghribi's Story of the Rukh".
** The original Aladdin story ends when the BigBad (the previous BigBad's brother) manipulates Aladdin's wife into thinking a roc's egg is the only decoration missing from their palace. Aladdin asks the genie of the lamp to get one, and the genie launches into a sudden vitriolic speech about how, after basically solving all of Aladdin's problems, he should now put his master in chains to serve as decoration. Exactly how an egg (or a giant bird, at that) can be a genie's master is never explained.
--->The genie gave such a loud and terrible shriek that the hall shook. "Wretch!" he cried, "is it not enough that I have done everything for you, but you must command me to bring my master and hang him up in the midst of this dome? You and your wife and your palace deserve to be burnt to ashes, but that this request does not come from you, but from the brother of the African magician, whom you destroyed. He is now in your palace disguised as the holy woman, whom he murdered. He it was who put that wish into your wife's head. Take care of yourself, for he means to kill you." So saying, the genie disappeared.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Literature]]
* ''Literature/{{Baudolino}}'': Rocs are raised by the Hashashin, and used by the protagonists in their escape.
* ''[[Literature/OlogySeries Dragonology]]'': ''Monsterology'' includes the roc in the chapter dedicated to flying beasts. It's a raptorial bird large enough to carry off an elephant in one talon, is native to the Arabian peninsula, and is noted to have once been confused with the [[OurDragonsAreDifferent wyvern]], the largest dragon in the books.
* ''Literature/TheGoatNamedIvanIvanovich'', from the ''Literature/AliceGirlFromTheFuture'' series, has Alice, during her travel to TheAgeOfMyth, sail with Sinbad the Sailor on a route where it is rumored they might meet a Roc. They do meet... an albatross, which people of that time do apparently call a Roc, and which Sinbad handles easily by throwing it some fish. Then the sequel, ''Literature/LilacSphere'', features [[RealAfterAll a real Roc]] and its egg.
* ''Literature/KnownSpace'': The short story "Safe at Any Speed" features rocs in the form of gigantic alien birds large enough to swallow a car whole.
* ''Literature/{{Redwall}}'': While not called a roc, the Wild King [=MacPhearsome=] (an eagle) fits the image, what with the otter protagonist being the size of his ''leg''. He guards the FlowerFromTheMountaintop, and actually flies the otter back to Redwall Abbey in time to save everyone from a plague.
* In ''Literature/TheTravelsOfMarcoPolo'', in what is quite possibly one of the earliest accounts of the creatures in Europe, Marco Polo describes rocs as eagle-like birds from Madagascar so large that their feathers alone are twelve paces long. They hunt by gripping elephants in their talons and dropping them to ground, before swooping down to feed on the smashed remains.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Let's Play]]
* LetsPlay/{{Chuggaaconroy}}: Invoked in the ''VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite'' playthrough, where Chugga named his Archeops after this bird.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'': Rocs have appeared since the game's first edition as birds of prey large enough to carry off elephants in their claws. ''TabletopGame/AlQadim'' also includes two-headed rocs.
* ''TabletopGame/{{Pathfinder}}'': Rocs are highly territorial, mountain-nesting raptors that grow so large that they can dwarf full-grown dragons. They typically hunt by snatching up their prey, carrying them high into the air and dropping them to ground, before flying down to eat the remains. Roc eggs fetch tremendous prices and are especially prized by cloud and storm giants, who use the giant birds as guard animals and [[HorseOfADifferentColor flying mounts]].
** Rukhs appear as a separate, although related, type of creatures resembling giant two-headed vultures. Unlike their more predatory cousins, they are scavengers and hunters of small prey (which given their size still means things like camels and humans).
** According to Qadiran worshippers of [[GodOfGood Sarenrae]], the first [[ThePhoenix phoenixes]] -- which in ''Pathfinder'' are around the same size as rocs -- were created when the goddess [[UpliftedAnimal awakened a flock of rocs to sapience]], blessing them with her fires when the newly intelligent birds pledged themselves to her service.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Videogames]]
* ''VideoGame/DwarfFortress'': Rocs are a type of megabeast, a group of extremely rare, large and powerful creatures that will attack you fortress when certain conditions are met and are generally capable of wrecking fortresses on their own. They are the third largest creatures in the game behind fully-grown dragons (which take fifty times as long to reach their full size) and giant sperm whales, and the biggest flying creatures of all. A newly hatched roc is as big as a fully-grown giant eagle.
* ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'': In various games, you get the Zuu -- gigantic birdlike monsters -- as {{random encounter}}s. The Rukh are a more powerful {{palette swap}}ped Zuu.
* ''Videogame/GoldenSun'':
** ''VideoGame/GoldenSunTheLostAge'': Rocs appear in the second game as common enemies, being merely man-sized birds.
** ''VideoGame/GoldenSunDarkDawn'': The Mountain Roc is large enough to carry off human prey when Amiti recalls indirectly encountering it as a child, to be worshipped as a god the nation of Morgal, to force the camera to zoom out during your boss fight against it (and you still don't get the whole thing on your screen) and that its gizzard acts as a WombLevel, albeit a short one.
* ''VideoGame/HeroesOfMightAndMagic3'' has Rocs as a Stronghold army creature (upgradeable to Thunderbird).
* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZelda'':
** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaLinksAwakening:'' The Roc itself never appears, but the Roc's Feather shows up as an item that allows the otherwise ground-bound Link to jump.
** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker'' has the Helmaroc King, a giant bird with a metal mask over its face that serves as Ganondorf's [[TheDragon Dragon]]. At the start of the game it kidnaps Link's sister Aryll, kicking off the main plot. There are also the Kargarocs, smaller (though still man-sized) {{mook}} variants of the same species.
* ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTensei'': Roc (sometimes Rukh) is frequently a demon in the series and its spinoffs. It is usually a member of the Avian or Flight race, and is usually portrayed as a giant bird with a rocky skin texture to emphasize its size, making it look like a flying mountain.
* ''VideoGame/SkiesOfArcadia'': One of the BonusBoss ship battles is against a Roc. It is large enough to dwarf Vyse's ship, the Delphinus, which is one of the largest craft in the game. You can also find it's nest nearby, a single egg from which is said to be enough to feed an entire town for a lunar cycle.
* ''VideoGame/SonicAndTheSecretRings'': The Rukhs double as a sky-based sort of TurtleIsland in that a civilization had been built on the backs of a flock of Rukhs in the past, each of them carrying roughly a city block's worth. Appropriately, they are found only in the stage known as [[LevelsTakeFlight Levitated]] [[RuinsForRuinsSake Ruin]].
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Western Animation]]
* ''WesternAnimation/AladdinTheSeries'': In one episode, the villain Abis Mal uses magical feathers from a baby roc to turn his men into walking tornadoes and loot Agrabah (and indirectly frames Aladdin's friend Abu), so Aladdin tires to free the baby roc and sends Genie to find the mother. There's also running gag where people keep mistaking "roc" and "rock" in conversation.
* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'': In "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS8E11MoltDown Molt Down]]", while in [[TheLostWoods the Everfree Forest]], the smell Spike is emitting as part of his molt attracts a roc; it promptly tries to eat him and the ponies he's with, strafing its ground-bound targets and trying to carry them off in its talons. It's stated that rocs, alongside hydras and [[SandWorm tatzlwurms]], are the biggest danger faced by young, molting dragons newly kicked out of their homes, tracking them down through the smell they produce and stopping at nearly nothing to devour them. There's also a moment of confusion early on when Smolder is explaining this to Spike, and he thinks she's talking about rocks instead.
-->'''Smolder:''' That molt stench is a magnet for predators. Tatzlwurms, hydras, rocs...
-->'''Spike:''' Dragons are scared of rocks?
-->'''Smolder:''' R-O-C-S. Rocs? Humongous birds of prey that can snack on a molting dragon like candy!
* In ''WesternAnimation/PopeyeTheSailorMeetsSindbadTheSailor'', Sindbad has a roc bird that he commands to sink Popeye's ship and bring Olive Oyl to him. Later, he commands it to kill Popeye, so the roc takes him to a volcano. Popeye returns with the roc on a giant plate, roasted with gravy.
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