In a message dated 5/17/2005 3:06:59 PM Eastern Daylight Time, 
 writes:

> The gorget was a brilliant goldish orange... 
> Would this be a trick of light?  Or, do ruby throats have a broad color 
> range 
> which might go from this color to purple?

Robert (Bob) Sargent, Alabama hummingbird bander, author of: Ruby-throated 
Hummingbird, writes: 
the male's..iridescent red gorget...appears fiery red when viewed at just the 
right angle; most of the time they appear dull black or dark gray. The 
iridescent feathers of the gorget lack true pigmentation. The red color we see is 
actually the product of the structure of the feather. Often, when the gorget 
feathers are badly worn, this color can appear to be brilliant orange...

This year a hummer with an orange-gold gorget visited several times in our 
yard alongside a male with a more conventionally flavored red gorget.
Gail Frantz 
guineabird
Reisterstown, MD