The lion on Montenegro’s national flag is gold.
It appears on the shield carried on the breast of the flag’s crowned, double-headed eagle. The lion is a passant heraldic figure, shown walking with one foreleg raised, on a green field beneath a blue background. Gold also appears in the eagle’s crown, scepter, orb and other details.
Montenegro’s flag has a red field surrounded by a gold border, with the national coat of arms at its centre. The eagle reflects a long Balkan and Byzantine heraldic tradition, while the lion has historical links to Venetian heraldry and earlier Montenegrin state symbols. These layers explain why the flag contains several colors rather than a single emblem.
The present flag was adopted on 13 July 2004 and retained after Montenegro became independent in 2006. The coat of arms was constitutionally mandated in 2007. The lion is therefore not the red or black feature many casual descriptions suggest; it is specifically gold against the shield’s green field.