Flags with animals: eagles, dragons and a quetzal

Most flags get by with stripes, stars and blocks of colour. A real animal is the exception, and that is exactly why it sticks. And when one does turn up, it is nearly always the national bird or an old heraldic beast, not just any motif. From the eagle to a dragon to a bird of paradise, here are the creatures that made it onto a national flag, and what they are doing there.

Eagles as far as the eye can see

The eagle is by far the most common animal on flags. Mexico shows a golden eagle perched on a prickly pear cactus, gripping a snake. The image goes back to the Aztec founding legend of Tenochtitlan, today's Mexico City: where the eagle landed, the city was to be built. Egypt carries the golden Eagle of Saladin in its white centre band, and Albania a black double-headed eagle on red. Almost everywhere the eagle stands for strength and a sharp eye, and in heraldry it is ancient.

The bird is popular further east as well. Zambia sets an African fish eagle above its coloured stripes, and Kazakhstan lets a golden steppe eagle glide beneath the sun across a sky-blue field. So when an eagle turns up in a quiz, you already have several countries to choose from and have to read the details. In the Andes the Andean condor crowns the arms of Ecuador and Bolivia, both of which carry that emblem on their flag.

The dragon of Bhutan

Bhutan is the only state whose flag carries a dragon. The white Druk, the Thunder Dragon, stretches across a field split diagonally into yellow and orange. In its claws it holds jewels, a sign of wealth. The dragon is no whim: in Dzongkha, Bhutan calls itself Druk Yul, the Land of the Thunder Dragon, because the thunder rolling through its mountain valleys was once taken for the creature's roar. White here stands for purity, and the way the dragon lies across the colour boundary ties the two halves of the flag together.

Birds of the tropics

After the eagles, colourful birds form the second-largest contingent. Papua New Guinea shows a Raggiana bird of paradise in flight, golden on red. Guatemala's quetzal sits on a scroll and stands there for liberty, since the bird is said not to survive in captivity. Dominica puts a purple Sisserou parrot at its centre, which makes it the only national flag to use the colour purple at all. The quetzal is also famous for its long green tail feathers, prized as far back as the Maya.

Uganda balances a grey crowned crane on one leg, and Kiribati sends a frigatebird wheeling over a rising sun. These birds are not decoration on the side; each one is the national bird of its country. The grey crowned crane, with its golden crest, has stood for Uganda since colonial times.

Lions and other heraldic beasts

The lion is a classic heraldic beast and shows up accordingly often. Sri Lanka carries a golden lion holding a kastane sword in its paw, with four bo leaves in the corners. Fiji places a golden lion holding a cocoa pod on its shield. European coats of arms teem with lions too, but only a few of them make it onto the actual flag. A short list helps it stick:

• Mexico: golden eagle on a cactus, a snake in its grip.
• Bhutan: white Thunder Dragon with jewels in its claws.
• Papua New Guinea: Raggiana bird of paradise in flight, golden on red.
• Guatemala: resplendent quetzal perched on a scroll.
• Sri Lanka: golden lion holding a kastane sword.
• Dominica: purple Sisserou parrot, the only flag with purple.

Why animals stay rare

Drawing an animal cleanly is fiddly, and it has to work at every size, from a stadium scarf to a postage stamp. That is precisely why these flags lodge in the memory: see the dragon and you think of Bhutan at once, and the quetzal leads straight to Guatemala. A pattern of stripes is easy to mix up; a bird of paradise is not. On top of that, you have to know an animal to draw it, and it needs to look right from every angle.

In CountryRush you learn exactly that link between flag and country, one animal at a time. The Daily Trip mixes fresh flags every day, the animal ones and the plain ones alike.