 Our regal bald eagle is as familiar to America's "melting pot" as the Statue of Liberty. To some people, the eagle appears to be a defiant warrior. Standing "upright", the eagle has splayed feet with a look of defiance in its profiled head and forward body. It seems to be guarding the country from harm and about to fight if provoked. Symbols have more then one meaning and the warrior is certainly a valid view. We have a history of defensive warfare here and abroad. In another perspective, the eagle's stance displays strength to hold a balance between war and peace. The eagle's right talons hold the arrows of war and its left talons hold a laureate, a wreath of peace. The bird's talons are equal distant apart maintaining the balance of strength.
Mexico is another North American country that displays an eagle as its national symbol. The Mexican version portrays a golden eagle alighting upon a cactus about to devour its prey, a snake. Why this symbol was selected to represent the nation of Mexico remains a bit of mystery and open to interpretation. For one thing, the golden eagle is not a native of Mexico nor does it migrate there for the winter. National and state bird symbols are real birds selected through the states and nations in which they reside.
The Mexican "eagle" is thought to be really a "caracara", a native falcon. Over the centuries, the eagle misnomer became so common, the name sticks today. The caracara or "golden eagle" comes from a golden red pictograph found in ancient tribal codices or books. Like Egyptian hieroglyphs, the codices record cultural tribal history in beautifully illustrated pictures. The books appeared in print among the Aztecs during the 1700's. Focusing on tribal history before and after the Spanish invasion, the books depict a caracara or "golden eagle" perched on a cactus without a snake.
Only one codice depicts a reddish golden eagle or falcon perched on a prickly pear cactus about to devour a snake. Perhaps, this where inspiration for today's Mexican national symbol originated. Nonetheless, there is a famous Aztec legend that tells of the founding of "Tenochititlan", the Aztec's first capital city and permanent Mexican settlement that sat on dry land in the middle of a lake. An Aztec shaman had a vision of a caracara, or so called "golden eagle" perched on a cactus on dry land in the middle of lake. It was about to devour it's prey, a snake. The shaman told his nomadic people when this bird was sighted, this was where they would settle to build their civilization. After wandering in one direction, the Aztecs came to a large lake with a dry island in the middle. Miraculously perched upon a cactus, sat a golden eagle about to devour its prey, a snake. It was here the Aztec nation was born. Many centuries later, the "golden eagle" or caracara falcon would be Mexico's famous national emblem.
Sources: www.wikipedia.com
For more info about the Mexican culture see: The 2010, National Geographic Traveler
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