Garuda

 
This Vedic solar deity is Garuda (Sanskrit, eagle), a mythological creature who is a half-man, half eagle hybrid. He is known as the king of the birds and destroyer of snakes. Garuda is likely the personification of the constellation Aquila (which is coincidentally named for the sacred eagle of Zeus). Garuda is the vehicle of the God Vishnu, and sometimes considered a manifestation of Vishnu himself.