CMD of the cleaned RGB+BH candidate sample of 389 stars (Sect. 4.4). The 100 pc bright star sample from Gaia DR3 is shown for reference (grey points). Highlighted are the confirmed BH binaries Gaia BHs 1, 2, and 3; the candidate BH from LAMOST (circles); and the Gaia NS binaries (triangles). The candidates are coloured according to their inferred orbital periods (top) and companion masses (bottom). Short-period systems (≲100 d) occur only on the lower RGB, consistent with expectations that the larger radii of more evolved giants preclude close orbits.