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”