Monday, March 25, 2013

Names of certain groups

Ever wonder what a group of certain things are called?


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

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