Orc (Middle-earth)

Goblins capture Bilbo and his dwarf companions early in The Hobbit but are thwarted by Gandalf and evaded by Bilbo with the help of an invisibility ring. These cannibalistic villains reappear in The Lord of the Rings as the race of Orcs, who (like Trolls) feed on human flesh when they can get it, and on each other otherwise.

Sauron sends various Orc spies after the hobbits when his black riders fail to retrieve the Ring, but of course he doesn't tell them how powerful it is, not trusting his treacherous henchmen.