The cockatrice's strange ability to turn other creatures to stone is the creature's greatest defense, and a cockatrice lair is invariably littered with petrified remnants of foes. In an ironic twist of fate, however, weasels and ferrets-the creatures most likely to slip into cockatrices' nests and consume their eggs-appear to be completely immune to the effect. For unknown reasons, cockatrices are both terrified of and enraged by conventional roosters, and are equally likely to flee or attack when confronted by one.