Hogwarts Legacy: How to Catch a Thestral (Male vs. Female), Explained

The Foal of the Dead quest in Hogwarts Legacy introduces you to the adorable world of beast breeding. To complete the quest, you need to capture both a male and female Thestral. This guide details where to catch Thestrals and how to determine the gender of these fantastic beasts.

Male vs Female Thestral Differences in Hogwarts Legacy

In Hogwarts Legacy, you can tell if a Thestral is male or female by looking at the gender symbol next to their name at the top of the screen. Males will have an arrow pointing diagonally, while females will point straight down.

There are no physical differences between male and female Thestrals, so you’ll need to rely on glances at their name tag to find the gender you need. We’ve found that having at least one male and female for every beast is an excellent idea so that you can breed them for easy galleons or discover rare color variants.

How to Find and Catch a Thestral in Hogwarts Legacy

The best place to catch Thestrals in Hogwarts Legacy is the Thestral Den in the North Ford Bog region. Being timid creatures, you’ll need to get crafty to capture them.

We’ve found that the following method is perfect for catching Thestrals:

• Use the Disillusionment Charm to cloak yourself
• Freeze the Thestral with Glacius
• Quickly use your Nab Sack to capture it

If you approach a Thestral too quickly, you’ll scare them off and cause them to fly away. They may look dark and sinister, but these steeds are sweet-natured and skittish. Unless you’re a unicorn — they hate unicorns.

Related: When is Beast Riding Unlocked in Hogwarts Legacy?

How to Purchase the Breeding Pen Spellcraft in Hogwarts Legacy

Now that you’ve caught both a male and female Thestral, you need to purchase the Breeding Pen Spellcraft to complete the Foal of the Dead quest and unlock breeding.

The Breeding Pen Spellcraft is sold at Tomes and Scrolls in Hogsmeade Village for 1,000 Galleons. That’s the shop directly to the left as you enter the village from the South.

Now that you know how to differentiate between beasts’ genders in Hogwarts Legacy, you can go hunting and catch both male and female of every beast for your Vivarium. You’ll need more space with all those babies — check out our guide on unlocking all Vivariums.

This guide was written while playing Hogwarts Legacy on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X.

– This article was updated on January 14th, 2024

About The Author

Thomas has been a freelance writer since 2021 and considers himself a connoisseur of all things Nintendo, Blizzard, and Marvel. Since amassing 145,000+ followers on a Facebook page about Diddy Kong with a backward hat in 2015, Thomas has become a trusted voice in the gaming community across publications such as AOTF, PC Invasion, and Gfinity.
His greatest achievements include catching every Pokémon, completing every quest in World of Warcraft (yes, all of them), and naming his dog ‘Mass Effect 3.’
Thomas is extraordinarily passionate about the video game industry and its community. He enjoys writing about various topics, including popular games like Destiny 2, Fortnite, and WoW, and exploring the latest AAA and indie titles.