Animal Group Names

Tetra's picture



alligators: congregation
antelope: herd
ants: nest, army, colony, swarm
apes: troop, shrewdness
asses: pace, herd, drove
baboons: troop
badgers: cete
bears: sloth, sleuth
beavers: family, colony
bees: grist, swarm, nest, hive
boars: sounder, singular
buffalo: herd, troop, gang, obstinancy
butterflies: flutter
buzzards: wake
camels: train, caravan, flock
caribou: herd
cats: clowder, cluster, glaring, pounce
caterpillars: army
cattle: drove, herd
chickens: brood, peep
cockroaches: intrusion
cormorants: gulp
cows: kine
crocodiles: bask, float
crows: murder
deer: herd
dogs: pack
doves: arc, dule, flight, pitying
ducks: paddling, flock, raft
eagles: aerie, convocation
eels: bed, swarm
elephants: herd, memory
elks: gang, herd
emus: mob
ferrets: business
finches: charm
fish: school, shoal, haul, catch
flamingos: stand, flamboyance
flies: swarm, cloud, business
foxes: leash, skulk, troop
frogs: army

geese: gaggle, skein
giraffes: herd, corps, tower
gnats: swarm, cloud, horde
goats: flock, herd, tribe, trip
goldfish: troubling
gorillas: band, troop
grasshoppers: cloud
gulls: colony
hares: down, husk
hawks: boil, cast, kettle
herons: sedge, siege
hippos: bloat
horses: herd, band, string, team, stable
hounds: mute, brace, pack
hyenas: cackle
jays: band, party, scold
jellyfish: smack, brood
kangaroo: mob, herd, troop
larks: exaltation
leopards: leap
lions: pride
lizards: lounge
mice: nest
moles: labor
monkeys: barrel
moose: herd
mules: barren, span
otters: romp
oxen: team, yoke, drove
owls: parliament
oysters: bed
parrots: company, pandemonium
peacocks: ostentation, pride
pelicans: pod
penguins: rookery, colony
pheasants: bouquet, nye
pigs: drift, drove, sounder
porcupines: prickle
porpoises: school, crowd, shoal
prairie dogs: coterie
quail: bevy, covey
rabbits: nest, warren
raccoons: gaze
rattlesnakes: rhumba
ravens: unkindness
rhinoceroses: crash
sardines: family
seabirds: wreck
seals: pod, rookery
sharks: school, shoal

sheep: flock, pack, hurtle
snakes: bed, knot, den, pit
sparrows: host
spiders: clutter
squirrels: dray, scurry
starlings: chattering, murmuration
storks: mustering
swallows: flight
swans: bevy, herd, bank, wedge, flight
swine: sounder, drift, herd
tigers: ambush, streak
toads: nest, knot
trout: hover
turkeys: rafter
turtles: bale, dole
walruses: pod, herd
weasels: pack, colony
whales: school, pod, mob, gam
wolves: pack, rout
wombats: wisdom
woodpeckers: descent
zebras: herd, zeal

And a slightly larger/different list: http://www.thealmightyguru.com/Pointless/AnimalGroups.html




Comments

Dr. Tranny's picture

Holy tl;dr Batman.

That said, um, wat?  Where the fuck did they come up with some of these?


Tetra's picture

Not sure, but much of it reeks of old Victorian naturalism.


Smythe's picture

According to wikipedia, "terms of venery" were invented by medieval aristocrats on hunting trips to distinguish themselves from the common folk. Originally they only applied to game animals. Victorian naturalists thought this was cool, and invented collective nouns for every damn thing on the planet.

tl;dr: It's made up shit that no one uses.


dr_wrebagzhoe's picture

It's a MURDER honey, a group of crows is called a MURDER.



grissgross's picture

this

I love the one for ravens too: unkindness.

I think that shit is fucking cool. :)


corbinj's picture

The Unkindness of Ravens kinda sounds like the name of a Morrisey imitating glam-goth band.


Cletus's picture

I've heard a group of ravens called a coven as well.


grissgross's picture

LOL nice


trewbacca's picture

ahahaha, i thought of this as I read the post, well done good sir.


parthenogenesis's picture

an ambush of tigers?  yikes!


zomgbies's picture

army of frogssss!


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