Aeralfos

Aeralfos are a flying, shield-bearing relative of Lizalfos. They first appear in The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess.

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
In The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, an Aeralfos with a forked helmet (which can be knocked off with the Helm Splitter) first appears as the miniboss of the City in the Sky, guarding the second Clawshot. To attack, it dives at him with its sword and shield raised. If Link attempts to attack it with arrows or a sword strike when it dives, it blocks with its shield. In order to attack it, he needs to use his Clawshot when it raises its shield before it, thus grabbing the shield and pulling the Aeralfos down with it, disorienting it. At this point, it is temporarily vulnerable to standard attacks; using the Helm Splitter at this point also knocks off its helmet. After a few moments, it returns to the air. After enough damage, it begins to fly between three large holes in the upper corners of the room to confuse Link. Enou further damage will defeat it.

Aeralfos without helmets appear as standard enemies near the end of the City in the Sky, at Hyrule Castle, and deep in the Cave of Ordeals. These attack much the same as the miniboss one, but are do not have the second phase.

The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes
In The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes, Aeralfos all have helmets and appear as highly dangerous late-game enemies, with a battle against three making up the final section of the penultimate level, Dragon Citadel; this is also the only encounter with normal Aeralfos in the game. In addition to their typical swooping, Aeralfos can dive to the ground and quickly do either three forward sword slashes or two forward slashes followed by a Spin Attack. From the air, they can use their wings to summon small whirlwinds to attack the Links. As the Gripshot is not found in that stage, the only way to get past their defenses is to attack their side or backs or use the Hammer when they are on the ground.

The following stage, Sky Temple, has an even more dangerous type called the Super Aeralfos, which can additionally breathe fire, while the Den of Trials has a dark, curse-bearing variant of that. As both of these areas have the Gripshot as an optional sub-weapon, it can be used to remove the shields.

Link's Crossbow Training
In Link's Crosssbow Training, Aeralfos appear as enemy targets in the City in the Sky, where they are all shown with helmets.

Hyrule Warriors
In Hyrule Warriors, Aeralfos appear as captains. They have several attacks, including swooping, stomping, breathing fire from the air, and combinations thereof. They weak to the Hookshot and Clawshot, which again grounds them immediately and renders them vulnerable; this is especially effective when they are doing their fire-breath attack. After a fire or stomp attack or when they are pulled to the ground, their Weak Point Smash gauge appears, thus allowing for more damage. When defeated, they may drop a weapon, Aeralfos Leather, or a Round Aeralfos Shield. They are introduced to the Legend Mode story in Land of Twilight, which also includes a "Dark Aeralfos" as a Keep Boss, or in Land in the Sky, depending on player choice. They also appear in Adventure Mode, where their overworld sprite appears to be heavily modified from Vire. There is also a stronger, elementally charged type called the Fiery Aeralfos.