A gorget ( ) is a patch of colored

feather Feathers are epidermal growths that form a distinctive outer covering, or plumage, on both avian (bird) and some non-avian dinosaurs and other archosaurs. They are the most complex integumentary structures found in vertebrates and an exa ...

s found on the throat or upper breast of some species of

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...

s. It is a feature found on many male

hummingbird Hummingbirds are birds native to the Americas and comprise the Family (biology), biological family Trochilidae. With approximately 366 species and 113 genus, genera, they occur from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego, but most species are found in Cen ...

s, particularly those found in North America; these gorgets are typically

iridescent Iridescence (also known as goniochromism) is the phenomenon of certain surfaces that appear gradually to change colour as the angle of view or the angle of illumination changes. Iridescence is caused by wave interference of light in microstruc ...

. Other species, such as the

purple-throated fruitcrow The purple-throated fruitcrow (''Querula purpurata'') is a species of bird in the family Cotingidae, the cotingas. It is the only species of the genus ''Querula''.Schulenberg, T. S., Ed. 2010Purple-throated Fruitcrow (''Querula purpurata'').Ne ...

and

chukar partridge The chukar partridge (''Alectoris chukar''), or simply chukar, is a Palearctic upland Upland game, gamebird in the pheasant family Phasianidae. It has been considered to form a superspecies complex along with the rock partridge, Philby's partrid ...

, also show the feature. The term is derived from the

gorget A gorget ( ; ) was a band of linen wrapped around a woman's neck and head in the English medieval clothing, medieval period or the lower part of a simple chaperon (headgear), chaperon hood. The term later described a steel or leather Collar (c ...

used in military armor to protect the throat (which is called ' in French). Feather wear and exposure to the sun can produce changes in the apparent color of iridescent gorget feathers. For example, fresh gorget feathers on the

Anna's hummingbird Anna's hummingbird (''Calypte anna'') is a North American species of hummingbird named after Anna Masséna, Duchess of Rivoli. It is native to western coastal regions of North America. Until the late 20th century, Anna's hummingbirds migrate ...

are rose red; these fade to a coppery bronzy color with age.

Functions

A number of social functions have been suggested for the gorget. It may aid in mate attraction or in resource defense. It may signal social status or allow species to identify conspecifics. Among hummingbirds, gorgets are typically found only on males. In the rare instances where they are found on females, they appear to serve primarily for signaling threats. Young hummingbirds, which need to intrude on adult territories to feed once they have fledged, all lack gorgets. This may help to make them less visible or less threatening to adult birds.

References

Bird anatomy {{Vertebrate anatomy-stub