There is just no way you are not going to find this interesting. Below is a (semi) complete list of what you would call various groups of animals.
I absolutely love the Victorian flair. An exaltation of larks? A shiver of sharks? Fantastic.
Feel free to break these out in conversation. “Science is the poetry of reality”, after all.
Mammals |
|
---|---|
Apes | A shrewdness |
Asses | A pace |
Badgers | A cete |
Bats | A colony |
Bears | A sloth, sleuth |
Buffalo | A gang, an obstinacy (I suspect these refer to old world buffalo; use “herd” for American bison) |
Cats | A clowder, a pounce; for kittens…A kindle, litter, an intrigue |
Cattle | A drove, herd |
Deer | A herd, bevy (refers only to roe deer) |
Dogs | A litter (young), pack (wild), cowardice (of curs); specific to hounds…A cry, mute, pack, kennel |
Elephants | A herd |
Elk | A gang |
Ferrets | A business |
Fox | A leash, skulk, earth |
Giraffes | A tower |
Goats | A tribe, trip |
Gorillas | A band |
Hippopotamuses | A bloat |
Horses | A team, harras, rag (for colts), stud (a group of horses belonging to a single owner, string (ponies) |
Hyenas | A cackle |
Kangaroos | A troop |
Leopards | A leap |
Lions | A pride |
Martens | A richness |
Moles | A labor |
Monkeys | A troop, barrel |
Mules | A pack, span, barren |
Otters | A romp |
Oxen | A team, yoke |
Pigs | A drift, drove, litter (young), sounder (of swine), team, passel (of hogs), singular (refers to a group of boars) |
Porcupines | A prickle |
Rabbits | A colony, warren, nest, herd (domestic only), litter (young); specific to hares…A down, husk |
Rhinoceroses | A crash |
Seals | A pod, herd |
Sheep | A drove, flock, herd |
Squirrels | A dray, scurry |
Tigers | A streak |
Whales | A pod, gam, herd |
Wolves | A pack, rout or route (when in movement) |
Birds |
|
---|---|
Birds in general | A flight (in the air), flock (on the ground), volary, brace (generally for gamebirds or waterfowl, referring to a pair or couple killed by a hunter) |
Bitterns | A sedge |
Buzzards | A wake |
Bobolinks | A chain |
Chicks (of many species) | A brood; clutch |
Coots | A cover |
Cormorants | A gulp |
Cranes | A sedge |
Crows | A murder, horde |
Dotterel | A trip |
Doves | A dule, pitying (specific to turtle doves) |
Ducks | A brace, flock (in flight), raft (on water) team, paddling (on water), badling |
Eagles | A convocation |
Finches | A charm |
Flamingos | A stand |
Geese | A flock, gaggle (on the ground), skein (in flight) |
Grouse | A pack (in late season) |
Gulls | A colony |
Hawks | A cast, kettle (flying in large numbers), boil (two or more spiraling in flight) |
Herons | A sedge, a siege |
Jays | A party, scold |
Lapwings | A deceit |
Larks | An exaltation |
Mallards | A sord (in flight), brace |
Magpies | A tiding, gulp, murder, charm |
Nightingales | A watch |
Owls | A parliament |
Parrots | A company |
Partridge | A covey |
Peacocks | A muster, an ostentation |
Penguins | A colony |
Pheasant | A nest, nide (a brood), nye, bouquet |
Plovers | A congregation, wing (in flight) |
Ptarmigans | A covey |
Rooks | A building |
Quail | A bevy, covey |
Ravens | An unkindness |
Snipe | A walk, a wisp |
Sparrows | A host |
Starlings | A murmuration |
Storks | A mustering |
Swallows | A flight |
Swans | A bevy, wedge (in flight) |
Teal | A spring |
Turkeys | A rafter, gang |
Widgeons | A company |
Woodcocks | A fall |
Woodpeckers | A descent |
Reptiles and Amphibians |
|
---|---|
Crocodiles | A bask |
Frogs | An army |
Toads | A knot |
Turtles | A bale, nest |
Snakes, vipers | A nest |
Fish |
|
---|---|
Fish in general | A draft, nest, school, shoal (some authors claim that the common “school” is a corruption of shoal, and therefore incorrect) |
Bass | A shoal |
Herring | An army |
Sharks | A shiver |
Trout | A hover |
Invertebrates |
|
---|---|
Ants | A colony |
Bees | A grist, hive, swarm |
Caterpillars | An army |
Clams | A bed |
Cockroaches | An intrusion |
Flies | A business |
Gnats | A cloud, horde |
Grasshoppers | A cloud |
Hornets | A nest |
Jellyfish | A smack |
Locusts | A plague |
Oysters | A bed |
[Via USGS]
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You’ve heard of a pride of lions and a murder of crows…. how about a romp of otters and a parliment of owls?
Fun for word and animal lovers alike.
Those are simultaneously poetic and awesome, I’m just imagining a bunch of owls forming a budget oversight committee or something
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a group of zebras………? I understand they are a “dazzle”