If you’ve ever heard someone refer to a group of animals as a “murder of crows” or a “parliament of owls,” you’ve experienced the mysterious and often hilarious world of collective nouns.
What is a collective noun?
Collective nouns are used to describe a group of animals or people, and they often reflect the characteristics of the group or its members. For example, a group of wild cats is often referred to as a “clowder”, which is derived from the Middle English word for “clotted” and reflects the clumped nature of the group.
Some collective nouns are quite creative and can be wildly entertaining. For example, a group of frogs is called an “army”, a group of ferrets is referred to as a “business”, and a group of jellyfish is described as a “smack”. There are even some collective nouns that have been around for centuries, such as a “pride of lions” or a “murder of crows”.
Collective nouns are fun to use and can add a bit of color to our language.
Next time you’re trying to describe a group of animals, why not give a collective noun a try? You never know what kind of interesting and amusing descriptions you might come up with!
151 Awesome Collective Names for Animals
Here’s a huge list of 151 groups of animals with their collective nouns attached. Have fun and take note of all the particularly crazy-sounding ones; like how a group of butterflies is called a kaleidoscope! Also, some of these animals have more than one collective noun, but these are the common ones.
If an animal is together in a group, they are formally called:
Albatrosses: a rookery
Ants: an army
Baboons: a troop
Badgers: a cete
Bats: a colony
Beavers: a colony
Bees: a swarm
Bison: a gang
Boars: a sounder
Buffalo: a herd
Butterflies: a kaleidoscope
Buzzards: a wake
Camels: a caravan
Caribou: a herd
Cats: a clowder
Cattle: a drove
Cheetahs: a coalition
Chickens: a flock
Chipmunks: a dray
Civet: a family
Cormorants: a gulp
Coyotes: a band
Coyotes: a pack
Cranes: a flock
Cranes: a sedge
Crows: a murder
Deer: a herd
Dogs: a pack
Dolphins: a pod
Donkeys: a flock
Doves: a dule
Ducks: a paddling
Dung Beetles: a roll
Eagles: a convocation
Elephants: a parade
Falcons: a cast
Ferrets: a business
Fish: a school
Flamingos: a stand
Foxes: a skulk
Frogs: an army
Geese: a gaggle
Giraffes: a tower
Goats: a tribe
Gorillas: a band
Grasshoppers: a cloud
Grouse: a lek
Gulls: a colony
Hawks: a cast
Hedgehogs: a array
Herons: a siege
Hippopotamuses: a bloat
Horses: a herd
Hummingbirds: a bouquet
Hummingbirds: a sparkle
Hyenas: a cackle
Jackals: a pack
Jays: a party
Jellyfish: a smack
Jellyfish: a smother
Kangaroos: a mob
Koalas: a colony
Ladybugs: a loveliness
Larks: an exaltation
Lemmings: an army
Lemurs: a conspiracy
Leopards: a leap
Lions: a pride
Lizards: a sunning
Llamas: a herd
Locusts: a plague
Lynx: a streak
Magpies: a riding
Magpies: a tiding
Martens: a richness
Meerkats: a mob
Mice: a mischief
Moles: a labour
Monkeys: a troop
Moose: a gang
Mosquitoes: a scourge
Mules: a barren
Numbats: a colony
Ospreys: a watch
Ostriches: a drift
Ostriches: a pride
Otters: a romp
Owls: a parliament
Oxen: a team
Oysters: a bed
Parrots: a pandemonium
Partridges: a covey
Peacocks: a muster
Pelicans: a pod
Penguins: a colony
Pheasants: a nye
Pigeons: a dole
Pigs: a drift
Porcupines: a prickle
Prairie dogs: a town
Puffins: a circus
Pythons: a knot
Quail: a bevy
Rabbits: a warren
Raccoons: a gaze
Raccoons: a nursery
Rams: a flock
Ravens: an unkindness
Rhinoceros: a crash
Robins: a watch
Salmon: a run
Seagulls: a squabble
Seals: a colony
Seals: a rookery
Sharks: a shiver
Shearwaters: a team
Sheep: a flock
Shrews: a labor
Skunks: a stench
Sloths: a bed
Snakes: a nest
Snipes: a wisp
Spiders: a cluster
Squirrels: a scurry
Starfish: a constellation
Starlings: a murmuration
Stingrays: a fever
Swallows: a flight
Swans: a bevy
Swifts: a flight
Swine: a passel
Tapirs: acandle
Tigers: a streak
Turkeys: a rafter
Turtles: a bale
Vipers: a nest
Vultures: a wake
Walruses: a pod
Warthogs: a passel
Wasps: a hive
Weasels: a gang
Whales: a pod
Wildebeests: a herd
Wolves: a pack
Wombats: a mob
Woodcocks: a fall
Woodpeckers: a descent
Wrens: a chime
Wrens: a clattering
Wrens: a murmuration
Zebras: a zeal
You might also be interested in learning the 35 longest words in the English language.
