🇲🇽Mexico·National Bird
🦅Golden Eagle
The eagle on the flag, eating a serpent on a cactus.
Mexico's flag depicts a golden eagle perched on a prickly pear cactus, devouring a rattlesnake. The image traces back to an Aztec founding legend: their god Huitzilopochtli told them to build their city where they saw this exact scene. They found it on an island in Lake Texcoco — and built Tenochtitlán, which became Mexico City.
Why this animal?
The golden eagle has represented Mexican sovereignty since before colonization. It's both a pre-Columbian sacred symbol and the modern emblem of the federal government.
Things to know
- ·Golden eagles have a 7-foot wingspan and can dive at speeds over 150 mph.
- ·They hunt prey as large as deer fawns, knocking them off cliffs or carrying them away.
- ·A pair's hunting territory can span 60 square miles or more.
- ·Despite the flag's imagery, the actual species in the original Aztec story may have been the crested caracara, a related raptor.
- ·Golden eagles are protected in Mexico and the United States — captive breeding programs help maintain wild populations.