Collective Nouns

One of the many oddities of the English language is the multitude of different names given to collections or groups, be they beasts, birds, people or things. Many of these collective nouns are beautiful and evocative, even poetic.

Birds
(alternatives in brackets) A colony of auks (flock, raft) A colony of avocets A flock of birds (dissimulation, fleet, flight, parcel, pod, volary, ) A sedge of bitterns (siege) A chain of bobolinks A bellowing of bullfinches A flock of bustards A wake of buzzards A tok of capercaillies A muse of capons A brood of chickens (cletch, clutch, peep) A chattering of choughs (clattering) A covert of coots ( commotion, cover, fleet, flock, pod, rasp, swarm) A flight of cormorants (gulp) A sedge of cranes (herd, sedge, siege) A murder of crows ( hover, muster, parcel) A head of curlews (herd) A trip of dotterels A dole of doves ( dule, flight, piteousness, pitying, prettying) A flush of ducks (badelynge, brace, bunch, dopping, flock, paddling, plump, raft, safe, skein, sord, string, team) A flight of dunbirds (rush) A fling of dunlins A convocation of eagles (aerie) A cast of falcons A charm of finches (chirm, trembling, trimming) A stand of flamingos A gaggle of geese (flock, plump, skein, team, wedge) A charm of goldfinches (chattering, drum, troubling) A dopping of goosanders A flight of goshawks A covey of grouse (brace, brood, flight, pack) A bazaar of guillemots A colony of gulls A fleet of mudhens A watch of nightingales (match, pray) A pride of ostriches (flock) A parliament of owls (stare) A fling of oxbirds A company of parrots (flock, pandemonium, psittacosis) A covey of partridges (bevy, bew, clutch, warren) A muster of peacocks (ostentation, pride) A pod of pelicans (scoop) A colony of penguins (parcel, rookery) A cadge of peregrines A nye of pheasants (bouquet, head, nide, warren, ) A flight of pigeons (flock, kit, passel, ) A knob of pintails small number! A congregation of plovers (band, flight, leash, stand, wing) A rush of pochards (flight, knob small number!) A run of poultry A covey of ptarmigans A bevy of quails (covey, drift) An unkindness of ravens (aerie, conspiracy) A crowd of redwings A parliament of rooks (building, clamour, congregation, shoal, wing) A hill of ruffs A fling of sandpipers A cloud of seafowls A squabble of seagulls A dopping of sheldrakes (doading) A walk of snipes (wisp) A host of sparrows (meinie, quarrel, tribe, ubiquity) A murmuration of starlings (chattering, cloud, congregation, clutter) A mustering of storks (flight, phalanx) A flight of swallows (gulp) A herd of swans (bank, bevy, drift, eyrar, game, herd, lamentation, sownder, squadron, team,

A mews of hawks (aerie, cast, kettle, mew, moulting, screw, stream) A brood of hens A sedge of herons (flight, hedge, rookery, siege) A charm of hummingbirds (chattering, drum, troubling) A colony of ibises A band of "ays (party, scold) A desert of lapwings (deceit) A parcel of linnets An exaltation of larks (ascension, bevy, flight) A congregation of magpies (charm, flock, gulp, murder, tiding, tittering, tribe, ) A sord of mallards (flush, puddling, sute) A plump of moorhens

wedge, whiteness, whiting) A flock of swifts A spring of teals (bunch, coil, knob, raft) A mutation of thrushes A flock of turkeys (dole, dule, raffle, raft, rafter, posse) A pitying of turtledoves A colony of vultures (committee, wake) A plump of waterfowls (bunch, knob, raft) A company of widgeons (bunch, coil, flight, knob, trip) A trip of wildfowls (bunch, knob, lute, plump,scry, skein, sord, sute) A fall of woodcocks (covey, flight, plump) A descent of woodpeckers A herd of wrens (flock)

#op

$ammals
(alternatives in brackets) A cluster of antelopes (herd, tribe) A shrewdness of apes (troop) A pace of asses (drove, coffle, herd) A flange of baboons (congress, troop) A cete of badgers (colony) A cloud of bats (colony) A sloth of bears (sleuth) A colony of beavers (family, lodge) A herd of bisons (gang) A sute of bloodhounds A herd of boars (singular) A sounder of (wild) boars %&'! A herd of bucks (leash) A gang of buffalos (herd, obstinacy) A drove of bullocks A flock of camels (caravan, herd, train) A herd of caribous A clowder of cats (glaring, cluster, clutter) A destruction of (wild) cats (dout, dowt) A herd of cattle (drift, drove, mob) A herd of chamois A coalition of cheetahs A colony of chinchillas A rake of colts (rack, rag) A bury of conies (game) A flink of cows %&'! A pack of coyotes (band, rout) A litter of cubs A cowardice of curs A herd of deers (bunch, leash, mob, parcel, rangale) A husk of "ackrabbits A mob of kangaroos (troop) A kindle of kittens (litter) A fall of lambs A leap of leopards (lepe) A kindle of leverets A pride of lions (flock, sault, sawt, sowse, troop) A herd of llamas A stud of mares A richness of martens (richesse) A mischief of mice (horde, nest, trip) A labour of moles (company, movement) A band of mongooses (pack) A troop of monkeys (cartload, mission, tribe, wilderness) A herd of moose A barren of mules (pack, rake, span) A family of otters (bevy, raft, romp) A team of oxen (drove, herd, meinie, span, yoke) A pomp of pekingese A drove of pigs (drift, flock, herd) A doylt of (tame) pigs A sounder of (wild) pigs A farrow of piglets (litter) An aurora of polar bears (pack) A chine of polecats A string of ponies (herd) A prickle of porcupines A school of porpoises (herd, pod) A coterie of prairie dogs (town) A litter of pups

A pack of dogs (kennel) A pod of dolphins (flock, school, team) A herd of donkeys (drove) A herd of elands A herd of elephants (parade) A gang of elks (herd) A business of ferrets (cast, fesnying) A skulk of foxes (earth, lead, leash, troop) A brace of geldings A horde of gerbils A "ourney of giraffes (corps, group, herd, tower) A herd of gnus (implausibility) A trip of goats (flock, herd, trip, tribe) A band of gorillas (whoop) A leash of greyhounds A group of guinea pigs A horde of hamsters A drove of hares (down, flick, herd, husk, kindle, leash, trace, trip) A herd of harts A herd of hartebeests A array of hedgehogs (prickle) A parcel of hinds A bloat of hippopotami (crash, herd, pod, school, thunder) A drift of hogs (drove, parcel) A stable of horses (drove, harras, herd, remuda, string, stud, team) A pack of hounds (cry, hunt, kennel, leash, meet, mute, stable, sute) A clan of hyenas A herd of ibexes A couple of impalas

A colony of rabbits (bury, drove, flick, kindle, leash, nest, trace, warren, wrack) A field of racehorses (string) A nursery of raccoons (gaze) A colony of rats (horde, mischief, swarm) A crash of rhinoceroses (herd, stubbornness) A bevy of roe deers A colony of seals (harem, herd, pod, rookery, spring) A flock of sheep (down, drift, drove, fold, herd, meinie, mob, parcel, trip) A surfeit of skunks A dray of squirrels (colony) A pack of stoats (trip) A drove of swine (herd) A doylt of (tame) swine (drift, trip) A sounder of (wild) swine %&'! An ambush of tigers (streak) A blessing of unicorns A colony of voles A huddle of walruses (herd, ugly) A mob of wallabyies A sneak of weasels (gang, pack) A grind of bottle(nosed whales A school of whales (float, gam, herd, mob, pod, run, shoal, troup) A destruction of wildcats (dout) A herd of wildebeests A pack of wolves (herd, rout) A mob of wombats A herd of yaks A cohort of zebras (herd, zeal)

)nvertebrates
(alternatives in brackets) A culture of bacteria A stuck of "ellyfish (fluther, smack, smuth) A clew of worms

)nsects and Arachnids

(alternatives in brackets) A colony of ants (army, bike, swarm) A swarm of bees (bike, cast, cluster, drift, erst, game, grist, hive, rabble, stand) A bike of (wild) bees A flight of butterflies (kaleidoscope, rabble, swarm) A bike of hornets (nest, swarm) A flight of insects (horde, plague, rabble, swarm) A flock of lice (colony, infestation) A plague of locusts (cloud, swarm)

An army of caterpillars An intrusion of cockroaches A swarm of flies (business, cloud, grist, hatch) A cloud of gnats (horde, rabble, swarm) A cloud of grasshoppers (cluster, swarm)

A A A A

scourge of mosquitoes (swarm) clutter of spiders (cluster) colony of termites (swarm) colony of wasps (bike, nest)

$olluscs
A bed of clams A bed of cockles A bed of mussels A bed of oysters (hive) An escargatoire of snails (rout, walk)

*ish
(alternatives in brackets) A company of angel fish A company of archer fish A battery of barracudas A shoal of barbels A fleet of bass (shoal) A grind of blackfish A school of butterfly fish A school of cod A swarm of dragonet fish A troop of dogfish A swarm of eels A shoal of fish (catch, draught, fray, haul, run, school) A glide of flying fish A glint of goldfish (troubling) A glean of herrings (army, shoal) A shoal of mackerels A shoal of minnows (steam, stream, swarm) A pack of perch A shoal of pilchards (school) A cluster of porcupine fish A party of rainbow fish A shoal of roach A bind of salmons(draught, leap, run, school, shoal) A family of sardines A herd of seahorses A shoal of shads A shiver of sharks (school, shoal) A troupe of shrimps A quantity of smelts A shoal of sticklebacks (spread) A flotilla of swordfish A hover of trouts (shoal) A float of tunas (troup) A pod of whitings

Amphibians and +eptiles

(alternatives in brackets) A quiver of cobras A rhumba of rattlesnakes A bask of crocodiles (congregation, float, nest) A den of snakes (bed, knot, nest, pit, trogle) A herd of dinosaurs (pack) A knot of toads (knob, nest) A flight of dragons (weyr, wing) A bale of turtles (dule, turn) An army of frogs (colony, froggery, knot) A nest of vipers (generation) A mess of iguanas

,eople
(alternatives in brackets) A faculty of academics A troupe of acrobats A cast of actors-players (company, cry) A bench of aldermen A conflagration of arsonists A troupe of artistes A team of athletes A tabernacle of bakers A babble of barbers A promise of barmen A thought of barons A squad of beaters A bevy of beauties (galaxy) A bench of bishops (psalter) A blush of boys A troop of boy scouts A feast of brewers A pack of Brownies A shuffle of bureaucrats A goring of butchers A sneer of butlers A slate of candidates A chapter of canons (dignity) A company of capitalists (syndicate) A congregation of churchgoers A school of clerks A cutting of cobblers (drunkship) A hastiness of cooks A shrivel of critics A cowardice of curs A troupe of dancers A decanter of deans (decorum) A caravan of desert travelers A board of directors An obstruction of dons A staff of employees A panel of experts A stalk of foresters A talent of gamblers A company of girl guides A galaxy of governesses A con"unction of grammarians A herd of harlots A melody of harpists An observance of hermits A gang of hoodlums A cavalcade of horsemen A blast of hunters A bench of "udges (sentence) A neverthriving of "ugglers A banner of knights (rout) An eloquence of lawyers A colony of lepers An audience of listeners An illusion of magicians A bench of magistrates A riches of matrons A morbidity of ma"ors A band of men A faith of merchants A diligence of messengers A troupe of minstrels A side of morris dancers A cortege of mourners An orchestra of musicians A tribe of natives A superfluity of nuns A crowd of onlookers A curse of painters (illusion, misbelieving) A malapertness of pedlars A crowd of people (audience, congregation, mob) A troupe of performers (troup) A skirl of pipers (poverty) A posse of police A converting of preachers A pity of prisoners (gang) A band of robbers A crew of sailors A scolding of seamstresses A house of senators A subtlety of sergeants at law An obeisance of servants A posse of sheriffs A blackening of shoemakers A choir of singers A squad of soldiers (army, brigade, company, division, muster, platoon, troop) A picket of strikers A class of students A simplicity of subalterns A disguising of tailors A glozing of taverners A den of thieves (gang) A board of trustees A flock of tourists An unction of undertakers A prudence of vicars An ambush of widows A coven of witches A gaggle of women A gang of workmen

A gang of labourers A bevy of ladies

A congregation of worshippers A worship of writers A fellowship of yeomen

$iscellaneous
(alternatives in brackets) A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A wing of aircraft (flight) host of angels (chorus) quiver of arrows bundle of asparagus belt of asteroids bunch of bananas (hand) grove of bayonets carillon of bells (change, peal) library of books batch of bread (caste) bavin of brushwood fleet of cars pack of cards (deck, hand) network of computers dossier of documents clutch of eggs bundle of firewood bed of flowers (bouquet, bunch, patch) colony of fungi pantheon of gods bunch of grapes (cluster) battery of guns budget of inventions chain of islands (archipelago) cache of "ewels ring of keys fleet of lorries (convoy) A rouleau of coins A collective of nouns A bank of monitors A range of mountains A troop of mushrooms A rope of onions A coterie of orchids A ream of paper A budget of papers A string of pearls (rope) A pod of peas A phantasmagoria of phantoms An anthology of poems A rosary of quotations (mellificium) A clump of reeds A rabble of remedies A nest of rumours A fleet of ships (armada, flotilla) A pair of shoes A shrubbery of shrubs A flight of stairs A galaxy of stars (constellation) An anthology of stories An arcana of tarot cards An agenda of tasks A stand of trees (clump, forest, grove)

.ome #hat $ight Be

A balance of accountants A bevy of alcoholics A corps of anatomists A conflagration of arsonists An audit of bookkeepers A rascal of boys A clutch of breasts A clutch of car mechanics A load of cobblers An unease of compromises A galaxy of cosmologists An intrigue of council members A shower of meteorologists An expectation of midwives A horde of misers An annoyance of neighbours A row of oarsmen A body of pathologists A virtue of patients A ponder of philosophers A clique of photographers A nucleus of physicists A breakdown of plans A flush of plumbers

A box of cricketers An incredulity of cuckolds A brace of dentists A bodge of /)0ers A grid of electricians An exaggeration of fishermen A revelation of flashers A fraid of ghosts A giggle of girls An expectation of heirs A vagary of impediments A diffidence of introverts A wealth of information A scoop of "ournalists A flush of lavatories A stack of librarians A babble of linguists A number of mathematicians A compromise of mediators An amalgamation of metallurgists

A complex of psychologists A following of stalkers A portfolio of stockbrokers A fanfare of strumpets A pack of suitcases A flight of yesterdays A "am of tarts A hug of teddy bears A ring of telephones A bunch of things A promise of tomorrows A twinkling of todays A cancellation of trains An anorak of trainspotters A linkage of webmasters A break of winds An impatience of wives A yearning of yesterdays An optimism of youths