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MAMMAL GROUP NAMES

We all know that a group of wolves is called a pack and a group of cattle, elephants, or deer is called a herd, but there are many less well-known names for groups.  Did you know that a group of porcupines is a prickle?

Apes – A  shrewdness                  Badgers – A cete                             Bats – A colony

Bears – A sloth, a sleuth                           Buffalo – A gang (American bison are called a herd)

Cats – A clowder, a pounce; for kittens – a kindle, litter, an intrigue         Cattle – A drove, a herd

Ferrets – A business                                  Fox – A leash, a skulk, an earth

Giraffes – A tower                                     Goats – A tribe, a trip                     Gorillas – A band

Hippopotamuses – A bloat  

Horses – A team, a rag (colts), a stud (group belonging to a single owner), a string (ponies)

Hyenas – A cackle                                     Kangaroos – A troop                        Leopards – A leap

Lions – A pride; Tigers – A streak          Martens – A richness                       Moles – A labor

Monkeys – A troop, a barrel                   Mules – A pack, a span, a barren

Otters – A romp                                        Oxen – A team, a yoke

Pigs – A drift, a drove, a litter (young), a sounder (swine), a team, a passel (hogs)

Porcupines – A prickle 

Rabbits – A colony, a warren, a nest, a herd (domestic), a litter (young), a down or husk (hares)

Rhinoceroses – A crash                           Seals – A pod, a herd

Sheep – A drove, a flock, a herd           Squirrels – A dray, a scurry

Whales – A pod, a gam, a herd 

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Bird Group Names 

Birds in general, as we all know, are called a flock.  They are also a flight (in the air), a volary, or a brace (generally for game birds or waterfowl, referring to those killed by a hunter).

Bitterns – A sedge                                    Buzzards – A wake                             Bobolinks – A chain

Chicks (of many species) – A brood, a clutch                                                   Coots – A cover

Cormorants – A gulp                               Cranes – A sedge                                Crows – A murder, a horde

Dotterel – A trip                                       Doves – A dule, a pitying (turtle doves)

Ducks – A brace, a flock (in flight), raft (on water), a team                            Eagles – A convocation

Finches – A charm                                   Flamingos – A stand 

Geese – A flock, a gaggle (on the ground), a skein (in flight)                         Grouse – A pack (late season)

Gulls – A colony                                        Hawks – A cast, a kettle (flying ), a boil (spiraling in flight)

Herons – A sedge, a siege                      Jays – A party, a scold                       Lapwings – A deceit

Larks – An exaltation                              Mallards – A sord (in flight), a brace

Magpies – A tiding, a gulp, a murder, a charm                                                Nightingales – A watch

Owls – A parliament                               Parrots – A company                         Partridge – A covey

Peacocks – A muster, an ostentation                                                                 Penguins – A colony

Pheasant – A nest, a nide (a brood), a nye, a bouquet                    

Plovers – A congregation, a wing (in flight)                                                       Ptarmigans – A covey 

Quail – A bevy, a covey                        Rooks – A building                             Ravens – An unkindness

Sparrows – A host                              Starlings – A murmuration                    Storks – A mustering                             Swallows – A flight                             Swans – A bevy, a wedge (in flight)     Teal – A spring                                   Turkeys – A rafter, a gang                  Woodcocks – A fall                                Woodpeckers – A descent