Why is the golden eagle the national bird of Mexico?
Who chose the golden eagle as Mexico’s national bird?
What does the golden eagle represent?
A Little About Mexico’s National Bird
common problem
The Mexican flag is one of many flags that feature a bird as a symbol, along with Ecuador, Guatemala, Dominica, Uganda, and Papua New Guinea, just to name a few. The Mexican tricolor flag is green, white and red, with the central stripe as the coat of arms.
So, what is the national bird of Mexico that appears on the Mexican flag?
The national bird of Mexico that appears on the Mexican flag is the golden eagle, also known in Mexico as the Royal Eagle (El Águila Real). The large golden bird is depicted sitting on a cactus devouring a snake.
Some sources also consider the crested caracalla the national bird of Mexico, as the bird appears in pre-Columbian Aztec codexes. Mexican ornithologist Rafael Martín del Campo suggested that early descriptions of the crested Caracalla were later mistaken for golden eagles.
Mexican flag featuring a golden eagle
Mexico’s national bird, the golden eagle
Rafael Martín del Campo argued that the golden eagle was not a widely distributed species in Mexico at the time the Aztec codex was produced. As such, there is some debate as to whether the golden eagle is definitely appropriate as Mexico’s national bird.
However, the golden eagle certainly has symbolic significance in other Mexican manuscripts. Legend has it that the god Huitzilopochtli instructed the early Aztecs to find an eagle that was devouring a snake on a cactus – this would be the ideal location for their capital.
It was at Lake Texcoco that the Aztecs discovered this, where they founded Tenochtitlan – the center of the Aztec Empire.
Read on to discover more interesting facts about Mexico’s national bird.
Some sources claim the crested caracalla to be another national bird, as it appears in pre-Columbian Aztec codexes
Why is the golden eagle the national bird of Mexico?
The golden eagle is closely related to Aztec and pre-Aztec symbology. Before the Aztecs first established their empire around 1428, Mexico and its surrounding areas were inhabited by Olmecs, Toltecs, Teotihuacans, Zapotecs, and Mayans. Thus, eagles appear in ancient Mesoamerican art dating back to around 500 BC.
After the Aztecs established themselves in modern-day Mexico, golden eagles appear in important Aztec manuscripts, including the Fejérváry-Mayer, Ramírez, and Mendoza Codexes. In the Ramírez Codex, the bird is depicted sitting on a cactus devouring a snake.
According to the text, the god Huitzilopochtli asked the people of Tenochtitlan to find an eagle devouring a snake on a cactus – something they found in the center of Lake Texcoco, the founding place of the Aztec capital Tenochtitlan. The eagle itself is associated with Huitzilopochtli, the god of the sun and war.
Golden eagle soars, soars the sky
dispute
However, there is much controversy surrounding this version of events. For example, while modern incarnations of the legend posit that an eagle was devouring a snake, anthropologists and historians point out that the text does not specifically state that the creature was a snake.
In addition, the snake had important symbolic significance in Aztec symbology and was associated with wisdom through the feathered serpent. So it doesn’t make sense for an eagle to devour another creature of great symbolic importance.
One theory is that the original text was mistranslated. ihuan cohuatl izomocayan, meaning “the snake hissed”, was mistranslated as “the snake was torn apart”. Once the Spanish conquistadors overthrew the Aztecs, the codexes were pieced together into a coat of arms that fit the European heraldic tradition.
The attack of the golden eagle on the snake symbolizes good and evil, but this may have been a mistranslation from the original manuscript from which the coat of arms was derived.
Another controversy holds that the golden eagle has been misunderstood, and that the bird that appears in the original manuscript is the crested Caracalla. Mexican ornithologist Rafael Martín del Campo studied early descriptions of birds in Aztec codexes and noted that their plumage was out of proportion to golden eagles that were probably rare in the region at the time.
A Mexican archaeological journal wrote: “The golden eagle (Aquila chrisaetos) has always been a rare bird on Mexican soil, how is it possible to describe the national bird as such? Keen archaeological observer Martín del Campo also pointed out that the plumage characteristics and diet associated with the sacred cuauhtli (eagles) represented by pre-Hispanic peoples did not match those of golden eagles.“
Golden eagle looking for prey
Who chose the golden eagle as Mexico’s national bird?
The golden eagle began to appear in Aztec symbology around 1325, when they founded Tenochtitlan. Aztec codexes contain numerous descriptions of eagles and other birds rumored to be the crested Caracalla – a member of the falcon family.
After the conquistadors captured Tenochtitlan in 1521, the region’s history was drafted by the Dominican monk Father Duran, who wrote the first history of the Westernization of Mexico.
This is the first time an eagle with a snake in its beak on a cactus appears in post-Aztec Mexican symbology. Numerous paintings were created showing a golden eagle atop a prickly pear.
This icon was not used as a flag by José María Morelos y Pavón until 1812, during the War of Independence.
In 1821 the coat of arms was adopted in the European heraldic style. In 1887, a flag similar to today’s Mexican flag was made into the French tricolor.
In 1984, President Miguel de la Madrid Hurtado enshrined the emblem into law.
The current Mexican flag is an interpretation of the Aztec legend – but not necessarily the correct one!
Golden Eagle landing
What does the golden eagle represent?
One of the largest and most handsome raptors, the golden eagle has a long and illustrious symbolic history dating back thousands of years to the Native American peoples.
Like many eagles, the golden eagle represents strength, courage, strength and wisdom. For the Aztecs in particular, it represented warfare and was closely associated with warriors – sometimes called “eagle warriors”.
The golden eagle is also associated with the sun god and the god of war Vitzilopochtli. Cuauhtli, which means eagle, was an important day in the Aztec calendar.
The golden eagle is about to land
A Little About Mexico’s National Bird
The golden eagle is a large bird of prey in the northern hemisphere and the most widely distributed eagle species. This gigantic bird is the fourth or fifth largest eagle, measuring 66 to 102 centimeters (26 to 40 inches) in length and with a wingspan of 1.8 to 2.34 meters (5 ft 11 in to 7 ft 8 in).
Mexico isn’t the only country that has the golden eagle as its national bird. It is the most common national bird in the world, adopted by five countries; Albania, Germany, Austria, Mexico and Kazakhstan.
This highly adaptable hawk lives in much of North and Central America, stretching south from Canada and Alaska to Mexico. It is also common in Europe, extending from Great Britain to eastern Russia, China, Central Asia, and North Africa and the Middle East. You can even find golden eagles in Japan.
The widespread distribution of this hawk is a testament to the skill and adaptability of this bird. Golden eagles are professional hunters and can reach diving speeds of about 320 km/h (199 mph).
They are of great symbolic importance, not only in the Americas, but throughout Europe and Asia as well. For example, the Greeks and Romans associated the golden eagle with the gods Jupiter and Zeus. It plays an important role in ancient Arabic and Middle Eastern legends. In Japan, the golden eagle is associated with the tengu—a weirdo bird that protects mountains.
Golden eagles thrive in a wide range of habitats, from forested lowlands to desert and mountain highlands, although they generally prefer contoured upland environments.
Historically, the golden eagle has held great symbolic significance
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What is Mexico’s national treasure?
By law, the golden eagle is the national animal of Mexico. Although the golden eagle was only enshrined in law in 1984, the bird has been associated with Mexico for thousands of years. Civilizations before the Aztecs highly valued the golden eagle, but it wasn’t until the rise and fall of the Aztecs that it became woven into modern Mexican culture.
What is the national flower of Mexico?
The dahlia was declared the national flower of Mexico in 1963. Dahlia tubers were a crop grown by the Aztecs.
Is the golden eagle the national bird of Mexico?
The golden eagle is the official national bird of Mexico. However, due to its importance in Aztec symbolism, the crested caracalla is sometimes referred to as the “original” national bird. In fact, it has been suggested that the Crown Caracalla was mistaken for a golden eagle.
Which bird is on the Mexican flag?
The modern flag of Mexico depicts a golden eagle on a cactus with a snake in its beak. This is the coat of arms of Mexico and depicts the founding of the Aztec capital Tenochtitlan.
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I am broadly interested in how human activities influence the ability of wildlife to persist in the modified environments that we create.
Specifically, my research investigates how the configuration and composition of landscapes influence the movement and population dynamics of forest birds. Both natural and human-derived fragmenting of habitat can influence where birds settle, how they access the resources they need to survive and reproduce, and these factors in turn affect population demographics. Most recently, I have been studying the ability of individuals to move through and utilize forested areas which have been modified through timber harvest as they seek out resources for the breeding and postfledging phases. As well I am working in collaboration with Parks Canada scientists to examine in the influence of high density moose populations on forest bird communities in Gros Morne National Park. Many of my projects are conducted in collaboration or consultation with representatives of industry and government agencies, seeking to improve the management and sustainability of natural resource extraction.
