Hummingbird Gorget: Throat Feathers That Sparkle and Shine

What Are the Colorful Patches on Hummingbird Necks?

anna's hummingbird — Courtesy Yasimine Fardin
Male Anna’s hummingbird

With just a turn of the head, a hummingbird explodes in iridescent radiance. A hummingbird gorget (the patch of colorful feathers covering its throat) instantly blazes in shades that span the color spectrum, depending on the species. These dazzling colors come from the feather structure rather than pigmentation. Each iridescent feather has tiny spikes that are densely packed with many layers of microscopic structures filled with air bubbles. These structures reflect light, says Bob Sundstrom, a science advisor for BirdNote, “creating color in the manner of sun glinting off an oily film on water.”

Hummingbird Gorget Colors

costa's hummingbird, hummingbird gorget — Courtesy Tom Mangelsdorf
Male Costa’s hummingbird

What colors are they? Hummers vary tremendously in the color and arrangement of their iridescent parts. Even among the handful of hummingbird species that are widespread in the United States, the array of colors is impressive. The male Allen’s and rufous hummingbirds have blazing red-orange throats. The beautiful male Anna’s hummingbird has an incredible iridescent magenta throat, face and crown. And the closely related Costa’s hummingbird, whose neck feathers taper into long mustache-like points on each side, has a head wrapped in royal purple.

Ask the Experts: Hummingbird Throat Feathers

hummingbird throat gorget — Courtesy Leslie Cramer
Ruby-throated hummingbird

“Are those nodules on this hummingbird’s throat? asks Birds & Blooms reader Leslie Cramer of Fort Smith, Arkansas.

Birding experts Kenn and Kimberly Kaufman say, “The pattern on a hummingbird’s throat can be confusing when you see it up close. The tiny, stiff feathers there are arranged in rows, with the feathers in each row overlapping like the shingles on a roof or the scales on a fish. They’re smallest just under the bill and slightly larger on the lower throat. On this ruby-throated hummingbird, the feathers with dark centers and pale edges create a spotted effect. On the lower central part of the throat, some new feathers that have molted in are larger and solidly red.

READ ON: 22 jaw-dropping hummingbird facts

Author

John Shewey

Lifelong birding enthusiast John Shewey is a veteran writer, editor, and professional outdoor photographer, with credits in Birds & Blooms, Birdwatching, Portland Monthly, Northwest Travel & Life, and dozens of other magazines, and co-author of multiple birding books. John has photographed birds throughout the Americas.

Reviewer

Kenn and Kimberly Kaufman

As a teenager in the 1970s, Kenn Kaufman hitch-hiked all over North America in pursuit of birds, an adventure later chronicled in his cult-classic book Kingbird Highway. After several years as a professional nature tour leader, taking groups to all seven continents, he transitioned to a career as a writer, editor, and illustrator. His 14 books incl...

Fact Checker

Kirsten Schrader

Now Birds & Blooms' content director, Kirsten has been writing about birding and gardening for 17 years. Her writing and editing roles have spanned the print and digital landscape. Although she has traveled to see amazing birds throughout the U.S., Kirsten has one dream bucket list bird—the male painted bunting.