# What is the best animal on a flag?

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

*By YPB Team · Published September 19, 2026 · https://youpick.best/ranking/what-is-the-best-animal-on-a-flag*

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## Current results (no votes yet)

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

Tags: animals, design, symbols, flags