According to popular legend, the Aztec people, then a nomadic tribe, were wandering in Mexico in search of a sign that their god Huitzilopochtli had commanded them to find: a Crested Caracara perched atop a cactus, devouring a snake. After two hundred years of wandering, they found the promised sign on a small island in the swampy Lake Texcoco. Here they founded their new capital, Tenochtitlan.

The coat of arms of Independent Mexico which was adopted in 1821, depicts a caracara eating a snake that it is holding in its claw. The design also forms the center of the Mexican flag.

See also

The Tale of the Eagle: a legend from Albania explaining the origin of their indigenous name, which also features an eagle with a snake.