Ever wondered what the collective noun is for various groups of animals,
birds or insects? Here is an unofficial list of some of the obvious and not so obvious...
A Herd of Antelopes
An Army, Colony, State or Swarm of Ants
A Shrewdness of Apes
A Drove, Herd or Pace of Asses
A Congress of Baboons
A Flange or Troop of Baboons
A Colony or Culture of Bacteria
A Cete of Badgers
A Battery of Barracudas
A Shoal of Bass
A Cloud or Colony of Bats
A Sloth or Sleuth of Bears
A Colony or Family of Beavers
A Bike, Cluster, Drift, Erst, Grist, Hive, Nest or Swarm of Bees
A Dissimulation, Flock, Flight or Parcel of Birds
A Pod of Birds (small flock)
A Volary of Birds (in an aviary)
A Brace of Gamebirds or Waterfowl
A Herd of Bison
A Sedge of Bitterns
A Sounder or Singular of (Wild) Boar
A Chain of Bobolinks
A Brace OR Clash of Bucks
A Chatter of Budgerigars
A Gang, Herd, Obstinacy or Troup of Buffalo
A Drove of Bullocks
A Flutter, Kaleidoscope, Rabble, Rainbow or Swarm of Butterflies
A Wake of Buzzards
A Caravan, Flock or Train of Camels
A Herd of Caribou
An Army of Caterpillars
A Drift, Drove, Herd or Mob of Cattle
A Chowder, Clowder, Clutter, Comfort, Kindle, Litter, Pounce of Cats
An Intrigue of Kittens
A Coalition of Cheetahs
A Brood, Clutch, Flock, Peep or Run of Chickens
A Chattering or Clutch of Chicks
A Chattering of Choughs
A Bed of Clams
A Band of Coati (Coatimundi)
A Quiver of Cobras
An Intrusion of Cockroaches
A Rag of Colts
A Cover or Covert of Coots
A Herd or Kine of Cows
A Flink of Cows (12 Cows)
A Band, Pack, Rout or Train of Coyotes
A Bushel or Cast of Crabs
A Herd, Sedge or Seige of Cranes
A Bask, Congregation, Float, Nest or Striker of Crocodiles
A Horde, Hover, Murder, Muster, Parcel or Parliament of Crows
A Litter of Cubs
A Herd of Curlew
A Cowardice of Curs
A Herd, Leash or Mob of Deer
A Bevy of Roe Deer
A Troop of Dogfish
A Kennel of Dogs
A Cowardice of Curs
A Pack of Wild Dogs
A Litter of Puppies
A Pod or School of Dolphins
A Herd or Pace of Donkeys/Asses
A Trip of Dotterel
A Dole, Dule, Flight or Plague of Doves
A Pitying of Turtle Doves
A Badling of Ducks
A Bunch, Paddling or Raft of Ducks on Water
A Bed, Brace, Flight, Flock or Team of Wild Ducks in flight
A Fling of Dunlins
A Congregation or Convocation of Eagles
An Array or Seething of Eels
A Crash, Herd or Parade of Elephants
A Gang or Herd of Elk
A Mob of Emus
A Business or Busyness of Ferrets
A Charm of Finches
A Draft, Nest, School or Shoal of Fish
A Run of Fish (in motion)
A Flamboyance or Stand of Flamingoes
A Business, Cloud, Hatch or Swarm of Flies
A Cloud, Company, Earth, Leash, Skulk or Troop of Foxes
An Army, Colony or Knot of Frogs
A Flock, Gaggle of Geese
A Skein, Team or Wedge of Geese (in the air)
A Plump of Geese (on water)
A Horde of Gerbils
A Corps, Herd, Journey, Kaleidoscope, Kindergarten, Tower or Troop of Giraffes
A Cloud or Horde of Gnats
A Flock, Herd, Tribe or Trip of Goats
A Charm of Goldfinches
A Troubling of Goldfish
An Implausibility of Gnus
A Band of Gorillas
A Cloud of Grasshoppers
A Leash of Greyhounds
A Covey or Pack of Grouse
A Confusion or Rasp of Guinea Fowl
A Group of Guinea Pigs
A Colony of Gulls
A Horde of Hamsters
A Down, Husk, Mute or Trace of Hares
A Boil, Cast or Kettle of Hawks
An Array of Hedgehogs
A Brood of Hens
A Scattering, Sedge or Seige of Herons
An Army of Herring
A Bloat or Raft of Hippopotamuses (Hippopotami)
A Drift or Parcel of Hogs
A Nest of Hornets
A Field, Herd, Remuda, Set or Stable of Horses
A String or Stud of Breeding Horses
A Harras, Pair, Rag or Team of Horses (Colts)
A Cry, Kennel, Leash, Mute or Pack of Hounds
A Charm of Hummingbirds
A Cackle of Hyenas
A Mess of Iguana
A Swarm of Insects
A Husk of Jackrabbits
A Party or Scold of Jays
A Bloom, Smack or Swarm of Jellyfish
A Mob or Troop of Kangaroos
A Kendle, Kindle or Litter of Kittens
A Loveliness of Ladybirds
A Deceit or Desert of Lapwings
An Ascension, Bevy or Exaltation of Larks
A Group of Lemurs
A Leap of Leopards
A Flock, Pride, Sault, Sawt, Souse or Troop of Lions
A Cloud, Plague or Swarm of Locusts
A Raft of Loons
A Charm, Gulp, Murder, Tiding or Tittering of Magpies
A Brace or Sord of Mallards
A Stud of Mares
A Richesse or Richness of Martens
A Mob of Meerkats
A Steam of Minnows
A Labour of Moles
A Business of Mongooses
A Barrel, Cartload or Troop of Monkeys
A Herd of Moose
A Scourge of Mosquitoes
A Baren, Pack or Span of Mules
A Watch or Enchantment of Nightingales
A Bevy, Family, Raft or Romp of Otters
A Parliament, Stare, Study or Wisdom of Owls
A Drove, Herd, Span or Yoke of Oxen
A Bed of Oysters
A Company or Pandemonium of Parrots
A Covey of Partridges
A Muster or Ostentation of Peacock
A Pulchritude of Peacocks
A Litter of Peeps
A Pod, Scoop or Squadron of Pelicans
A Colony or Rookery of Penguins
A Bevy, Brood, Head, Nest, Nide or Nye of Pheasants
A Bouquet of Pheasants (in flight)
A Flight or Flock of Pigeons
A Kit of Pigeons (flying together)
A Herd, Litter or Trip of Pigs
A Passel or Team of Hogs
A Drift, Drove or Sounder of Swine
A Concregation, Stand or Wing of Plovers
A Drove or String of Ponies
A Prickle of Porcupines
A Herd, Pod or School of Porpoises
A Coterie of Prairie Dogs
A Bevy, Covey or Drift of Ptarmigan (or Quail)
A Litter or Puddle of Pups (or Puppies)
A Bury, Circle, Colony, Herd (Domestic), Litter or Trace of Rabbits
A String of Racehorses
A Colony, Mischief, Pack or Swarm of Rats
A Rhumba of Rattlesnakes
A Murder or Unkindness of Ravens
A Herd of Reindeer
A Crash or Herd of Rhinoceros
A Bevy of Roebucks
A Building, Clamour, Parliament or Rookery of Rooks
A Pod of Rotifers
A Hill of Ruffs
A Family of Sardines
A Pungent of Sasquatch
A Stench of Schnauzers
A Raft of Sea Otters
A Flock of Seagulls
A Herd of Seahorses
A Harem, Herd, Pod, Rookery or Trip of Seals
A Shiver of Sharks
A Drove, Flock, Herd, Hirsel, Mob, Pack or TRIP of Sheep
A Surfeit of Skunks
An Ascension of Skylarks
A Walk of Snails
A Bed, Brood, Den, Knot, Nest, Pir or Slither of snakes
A Walk or Wisp of Snipe
A Host, Knot or Quarrel of Sparrows
A Dray or Scurry of Squirrels
An Affliction, Chattering, Filth, Murmation, Murmuration of Starlings
A Fever of Stingrays
A Mustering of Storks
A Flight or Gulp of Swallows
A GAME, BANK, TEAM, HERD or BEVY* of swans.
A Ballet, Lamentation, Wedge of Swans
A Flock of Swifts
A Drift, Herd or Sounder of Swine
A Cloud of Tadpoles
A Spring of Teal
A Brood, Colony, Nest OR Swarm of Termites
A Mutation of Thrushes
An Ambush or Streak of Tigers
A Knab or Knot of Toads
A Creep of Tortoises
A Hover of Trout
A Clutch, Gang or Rafter of Turkeys
A Dule or Pitying of Turtle Doves
A Bale, Dole, Nest or Turn of Turtles
A Blessing, Fantasy or Glory of Unicorns
A Bed of Urchins
A Nest of Vipers
A Committee of Vultures
A Herd or Pod of Walruses
A Nest, Pail or Pladge of Wasps
A Bunch, Knob, Plump or Trip of Waterfowl
A Boogle, Confusion, Gang or Pack of Weasels
A Gam, Herd, Pod or School of Whales
A Grind of Bottle Nose Whales
A Company or Trip of Widgeon
A Bunch, Knob, Plump or Trip of Wildfowl
A Pack or Rout of Wolves
A Wisdom of Wombats
A Fall of Woodcocks
A Descent of Woodpeckers
A Clew of Worms
A Chime or Herd of Wrens
A Herd of Yaks
A Dazzle, Herd or Zeal of Zebra
PETA: People Eating Tasty Animals - Unknown
We hold these semi-animal meetings. - Archie Bunker
Can vegetarians eat animal crackers? - George Carlin
Man is by nature a political animal. - Aristotle
The buffalo is a surprisingly stupid animal. - Ellsworth Huntington
Man is the only animal that blushes. Or needs to. - Mark Twain
My music is best understood by children and animals. - Igor Stravinsky
Of all the animals, the boy is the most unmanageable. - Plato
Mmmm, pork chops and bacon... my two favorite animals. - Homer Simpson
All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others. - George Orwell
Mouse: An animal which strews its path with fainting women. - Ambrose Bierce
Like the herd animals we are, we sniff warily at the strange one among us. - Loren Eiseley
A black cat crossing your path signifies that the animal is going somewhere. - Groucho Marx
What do you do when you see an endangered animal eating an endangered plant? - George Carlin
There's a good animal show on with that kindly old gent, Marlons Perkos. - Archie Bunker
All animals, except man, know that the principal business of life is to enjoy it. - Samuel Butler
The turkey is living proof that an animal can survive with no intelligence at all. - Harvey D. Comstock
Often, the human animal dresses terror in rage, and expresses both in a way unlike either. - Julius Lester
A racehorse is an animal that can take several thousand people for a ride at the same time. - Marjorie Johnson
I'm not a vegetarian because I love animals. I'm a vegetarian because I hate plants. - A. Whitney Brown
I'm kind of honored to be a dragon lady. The dragon is a very powerful, mythical animal. - Yoko Ono
There are a lot of things I learned from animals. One was that they couldn't hiss or boo me. - James Dean
The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated. - Mahatma Gandhi
Men are the only animals that devote themselves, day in and day out, to making one another unhappy. - H L Mencken
A moose is an animal with horns on the front of its head and a hunting lodge wall on the back of it. - Groucho Marx
I like cookies, any cookie you put in front of me - animal cookies, sugar cookies, anything crunchy. - Maria Shriver
I was readin' an article about the animal population - there's millions of pets explodin'. - Archie Bunker
A family is a unit composed not only of children but of men, women, an occasional animal, and the common cold. - Ogden Nash
It is just like man's vanity and impertinence to call an animal dumb because it is dumb to his dull perceptions. - Mark Twain
It is inexcusable for scientists to torture animals; let them make their experiments on journalists and politicians. - Henrik Ibsen
There are a zillion variables to a hamburger. What part of the animal went into it. What coarseness. What temperature. - Danny Meyer
It has been said that man is a rational animal. All my life I have been searching for evidence which could support this. - Bertrand Russell
An actor is never so great as when he reminds you of an animal - falling like a cat, lying like a dog, moving like a fox. - Francois Truffaut
When you hunt animals, you may succeed or not. But when you open the fridge, you will succeed a hundred percent of the time. - Nora Volkow
Man is a rational animal who always loses his temper when he is called upon to act in accordance with the dictates of reason. - Oscar Wilde
Man is a credulous animal, and must believe something; in the absence of good grounds for belief, he will be satisfied with bad ones. - Bertrand Russell
If animals could speak, the dog would be a blundering outspoken fellow; but the cat would have the rare grace of never saying a word too much. - Mark Twain
Man is the only animal who enjoys the consolation of believing in a next life; all other animals enjoy the consolation of not worrying about it. - Robert Brault
I love to go to the zoo. But not on Sunday. I don't like to see the people making fun of the animals, when it should be the other way around. - Ernest Hemingway
see also Animal, Language & School Sections
Animal Life Spans
Genetic Science
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