My Gorgeous Gorget
p.1 #1My Gorgeous Gorget
A hummingbird’s brilliant throat feathers are called its “gorget” (pronounced gor-jit). The term comes from days of old, when a knight-in-armor wore a metallic collar—or gorget—to protect his throat. The hummingbird’s intense glint is the result of iridescence, rather than colored pigments. The bird’s throat feathers contain minutely thin, film-like layers of “platelets,” set like tiles in a mosaic against a darker background. Light waves reflect and refract off the mosaic, creating color in the manner of sun glinting off oily film on water.
Jan 13, 2026 at 12:22 AM
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p.1 #10My Gorgeous Gorget
What a beautiful shot, Tony! Doesn't get much better than that!
Mark
Mark
Feb 01, 2026 at 12:49 PM