You Pick BestYouPickBest

What is the best animal on a flag?

by YPB Team

Dragons, eagles, an extinct ox and a bear that outlived its own subspecies. Heraldry made some strange casting choices.

  1. Welsh Dragon — ranked #11
    Welsh Dragon
    The red dragon of Wales, one of the oldest national flags still in use and the only dragon on a European one.
    1000pts
  2. Ecuadorian Condor — ranked #22
    Ecuadorian Condor
    An Andean condor with its wings spread above the coat of arms, wider than anything else on the flag.
    682pts
  3. Ugandan Grey Crowned Crane — ranked #33
    Ugandan Grey Crowned Crane
    A one-legged crane in the centre of Uganda's flag, the only national flag with a bird facing sideways in profile.
    551pts
  4. Berlin Bear — ranked #44
    Berlin Bear
    The standing black bear that has represented Berlin on seals and flags since the thirteenth century.
    551pts
  5. California Grizzly Bear — ranked #55
    California Grizzly Bear
    The bear on the California state flag, modelled on a real captive grizzly, from a subspecies hunted to extinction by 1924.
    466pts
  6. Kiribati Frigatebird — ranked #66
    Kiribati Frigatebird
    A frigatebird flying over a rising sun and three white waves, one of the most literal seascapes in vexillology.
    466pts
  7. Mexican Golden Eagle — ranked #77
    Mexican Golden Eagle
    An eagle on a cactus eating a snake, the Aztec founding legend of Tenochtitlan rendered as a coat of arms.
    466pts
  8. Bhutanese Dragon — ranked #88
    Bhutanese Dragon
    The white thunder dragon of Bhutan, clutching jewels across a diagonal orange and yellow field.
    363pts
  9. Albanian Double-Headed Eagle — ranked #99
    Albanian Double-Headed Eagle
    A black two-headed eagle on red, carried into battle by Skanderbeg in the fifteenth century.
    363pts
  10. Papua New Guinean Bird-of-Paradise — ranked #1010
    Papua New Guinean Bird-of-Paradise
    A raggiana bird-of-paradise in gold, paired with the Southern Cross on a split red and black field.
    363pts
  11. Wyoming Bison — ranked #1111
    Wyoming Bison
    A white bison with the state seal branded on its flank, on one of the most admired US state flags.
    363pts
  12. Fijian Dove — ranked #1212
    Fijian Dove
    A dove of peace on the shield of Fiji's flag, alongside sugar cane, a coconut palm and bananas.
    363pts
  13. Sri Lankan Lion — ranked #1313
    Sri Lankan Lion
    A gold lion holding a sword, the central figure of one of the most detailed national flags in the world.
    0pts
  14. Bernese Bear — ranked #1414
    Bernese Bear
    A red-clawed bear climbing diagonally across the flag of the Swiss canton and city of Bern.
    0pts
  15. Moldovan Aurochs — ranked #1515
    Moldovan Aurochs
    An aurochs head with a star between its horns, an extinct wild ox on a living national flag.
    0pts
  16. Zambian Fish Eagle — ranked #1616
    Zambian Fish Eagle
    An African fish eagle in flight above three vertical stripes, positioned off-centre to the fly.
    0pts

#Animals43#Design15#Symbols4#Flags1

Comments

California drew its flag from a real grizzly and then hunted the subspecies out by the 1920s: https://youpick.best/articles/bear-ranked-many-ways

YP
ypb-team·11h ago·
Make your own rankingAny question with 2–50 answers. AI fills in options and pictures in a minute.Create →Add rankings to your siteEmbed any ranking. Your readers vote right on your page.How it works →