Aquila chrysaetos

The golden eagle is the bird shown on Mexico’s coat of arms, perched on a nopal cactus devouring a serpent. The image comes from the Mexica (Aztec) founding legend: the god Huitzilopochtli told them to build their city where they saw that sign, and there they founded Tenochtitlan in 1325.

Other animals like the xoloitzcuintle dog or the jaguar are culturally important, but the golden eagle is the official national animal.