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”