The stone-carved Zimbabwe Bird is the national emblem of Zimbabwe, appearing on the national flags, coats of arms, banknotes and coins of both Zimbabwe and formerly Rhodesia. It probably represents the bateleur eagle or the African fish eagle. The bird's design is derived from a number of soapstone sculptures found in the ruins of the ancient city of Great Zimbabwe.

The present design was adopted on 18 April 1980, when Zimbabwe won its independence from the U.K. The national flag consists of 7 even horizontal stripes of black, red, yellow and green. The colour sequence is axially symmetrical about the middle black stripe. Coming from the black stripe are the red, yellow and green stripes. On the hoist of the flag, a white wedge that carries a symbol of bird carved in soapstone in the red five-pointed star is placed. The hoist is the half or edge of a flag nearest to the flagpole.

The colours were inspired by the flag of the Zimbabwe African National Union's Patriotic Front, which pushed for gaining independence of the former Rhodesia from the U.K. The star recalls the origins of socialism in the country and the symbolism of colours is as follows with black representing the African population, the red represents the blood shed during the struggle for independence, the yellow represents the mineral wealth and the green represents the green landscape. The white colour traditionally symbolizes peace.

More Info: en.wikipedia.org