Collective nouns for animals | Mammals, birds, fis...
Below is a list of the collective nouns for animals. If you would like to add to or amend this list, please leave a comment below.
These collective nouns can have a long history, and have been developed since medieval times.
For example, the “Book of St. Albans”, dating back to 1486, was a guide to hawking and hunting, and listed many of the collective nouns for animals we still use today.
For some animals, there is more than one collective noun, reflecting how close people have been to them througout history. Have a look at Cats, Dogs and Horses in the list below. Some collective nouns are used for more than one animal. For example, both Bats and Ants can be found in a ‘Colony’.
Collective nouns for mammals & marsupials
| Animal | Collective Nouns |
| Antelope | Herd |
| Apes | Shrewdness |
| Asses | Pace, Herd, Drove |
| Baboons | Troop, Flange |
| Badgers | Cete |
| Bats | Colony, Cloud |
| Bears | Sloth, Sleuth, Litter (young) |
| Beavers | Colony, Family |
| Bison | Herd |
| Buffalo | Gang, Obstinacy |
| Camels | Caravan, Flock, Train |
| Caribou | Herd |
| Cats | Clowder, Pounce; (Kittens: Kindle, Litter, Intrigue), Destruction (wild cats) |
| Cattle | Drove, Herd |
| Cheetah | Coalition |
| Chinchilla | Colony |
| Cows | Herd, Kine |
| Coyotes | Band |
| Deer | Herd, Bevy (only for roe deer) |
| Dogs | Litter (puppies), Pack (if wild), Cowardice (curs), Leash(Greyhounds). For hounds: Cry, Mute, Pack, Kennel |
| Dolphins | Pod |
| Donkeys | Drove, Herd, Pace |
| Elephants | Herd, Memory |
| Elk | Gang |
| Ferrets | Business, Cast, Fesnying |
| Fox | Leash, Skulk, Earth, Lead, Troop |
| Giraffes | Tower |
| Goats | Tribe, Trip |
| Gorillas | Band, Troop |
| Hedgehogs | Array |
| Hippopotamuses | Bloat |
| Horses | Team, Harras, Rag (colts), Stud (a group of horses owned by one person), String (for ponies) |
| Hyenas | Cackle, Clan |
| Impalas | Herd |
| Kangaroos | Mob, Troop |
| Leopards | Leap |
| Lions | Pride, Sault, Troop |
| Martens | Richness |
| Mice | Mischief |
| Moles | Labor |
| Monkeys | Troop, Barrel |
| Moose | Herd |
| Mules | Pack, Span, Barren, rake |
| Otters | Bevy, Family, Raft, Romp |
| Oxen | Team, Yoke |
| Pigs | Drift, Drove, Litter (piglets), Sounder (swine only), Team, Passel (hogs only), Singular (for boars) |
| Polecats | Chine |
| Porcupines | Prickle |
| Porpoises | Crowd, Herd, Pod, School, Shoal |
| Rabbits | Colony, Warren, Nest, Herd (domesticated only), Litter (young rabbits), Down (hares), husk (hares) |
| Raccoons | Gaze |
| Rats | Colony, Pack, Plague, Swarm |
| Reindeer | Herd |
| Rhinoceroses | Crash |
| Roebucks | Bevy |
| Seals | Bob, Harem, Herd, Pod, Rookery |
| Sheep | Drove, Flock, Herd |
| Springbok | Herd |
| Squirrels | Dray, Scurry |
| Stoats | Pack, Trip |
| Tigers | Ambush, Streak |
| Walruses | Herd, Pod |
| Weasles | Gang, Colony, Pack |
| Whales | Pod, Gam, Herd, School |
| Wolves | Pack, Rout, Route (when moving) |
| Wombats | Wisdom |
| Zebras | Zeal, Crossing, Dazzle, Cohorts, Herd |
Collective nouns for birds
| Animal | Collective Nouns |
| Birds in general | Brace (for a couple of birds that have been killed when hunted), Flight (when flying), Flock (when on the ground), Volary |
| Albatross | Rookery |
| Bitterns | Sedge |
| Bullfinches | Bellowing |
| Buzzards | Wake |
| Bobolinks | Chain |
| Capons | Mews |
| Chickens | Brood, Peep, Young chickens: Chattering, Clutch |
| Chicks (Various birds) | Brood; Clutch |
| Coots | Cover |
| Cormorants | Gulp |
| Cranes | Sedge, Seige |
| Crows | Horde, Murder |
| Dotterel | Trip |
| Doves | Dule, Pitying (Turtle doves only) |
| Ducks | Balding, Brace (a couple of hunted and killed ducks), Flock (flying), Paddling (on water), Raft (on water), Team |
| Dunlins | Fling |
| Eagles | Convocation |
| Emus | Mob |
| Finches | Charm |
| Falcons | Cast |
| Flamingos | Stand |
| Geese | Flock, Gaggle (grounded), Skein (flying) |
| Goshawks | Flight |
| Grouse | Pack (later in the hunting season) |
| Guillemots | Bazaar |
| Guinea Fowl | Confusion |
| Gulls | Colony |
| Hawks | Boil (when spiraling in flight), Cast, Kettle (large amount of flying hawks) |
| Herons | Sedge, Siege |
| Hummingbirds | Charm |
| Jays | Party, Scold |
| Lapwings | Deceit |
| Larks | Exaltation |
| Mallards | Sord (flying), Brace (two that havce been hunted and killed) |
| Magpies | Charm, Gulp, Murder, Tiding |
| Nightingales | Watch |
| Owls | Parliament |
| Parrots | Company, Pandemonium |
| Partridge | Covey |
| Peacocks | Muster, Ostentation |
| Pelicans | Pod |
| Penguins | Colony |
| Pheasant | Bouquet, Brace (couple hunted and killed), Nest, Nide, Nye, |
| Pigeons |
Flight, Flock, Kit |
| Plovers | Congregation, Wing (flying) |
| Ptarmigans | Covey |
| Rooks | Building, Clamor, Parliament |
| Ruffs | Hill |
| Quail | Bevy, Covey |
| Ravens | Storytelling, Unkindness |
| Seabirds | Wreck |
| Sheldrakes | Doading |
| Skylarks | Exultation |
| Snipe | Walk, Wisp |
| Sparrows | Host |
| Starlings | Murmuration |
| Storks | Mustering |
| Swallows | Flight |
| Swans | Bevy, Wedge (flying) |
| Swifts | Flock |
| Teal | Spring |
| Thrush | Mutation |
| Turkeys | Gang, Rafter |
| Turtle Doves | Pitying, Dule |
| Vultures | Kettle (flying), Venue |
| Waterfowls | Knob, Plump |
| Widgeons | Company |
| Wildfowl | Plump |
| Woodcocks | Fall |
| Woodpeckers | Descent |
| Wrens | Herd |
Collective nouns for fish
| Animal | Collective Nouns |
| Fish (general) | Draft, Nest, School, Shoal (some academics argue that ‘School’ is incorrect, and that Shoal should be used instead). When caught: Catch, Drought, Haul |
| Barracudas | Battery |
| Bass | Shoal |
| Cod | Lap |
| Eels | Bed, Fry, Swarm |
| Goldfish | Glint, Troubling |
| Herring | Army |
| Sardines | Family |
| Sharks | Shiver |
| Stingrays | Fever |
| Trout | Hover |
Collective nouns for reptiles and amphibians
| Animal | Collective Nouns |
| Alligators | Congregation |
| Cobras | Quiver |
| Crocodiles | Bask, Float |
| Frogs | Army, Colony |
| Lizards | Lounge |
| Rattlesnakes | Rhumba |
| Salamanders | Congress |
| Toads | Knab, Knot, Nest |
| Turtles | Bale, Dole, Nest, Turn |
| Snakes, vipers | Den, Generation, Knot, Nest, Pit |
Collective nouns for invertebrates (including insects, molluscs etc.)
| Animal | Collective Nouns |
| Ants | Army, Colony, Nest, Swarm (flying) |
| Bees | Grist, Hive, Swarm |
| Caterpillars | Army |
| Clams | Bed |
| Cockroaches | Intrusion |
| Crabs | Cast |
| Flies | Business, Cloud, Swarm |
| Gnats | Cloud, Horde, Swarm |
| Grasshoppers | Cloud |
| Hornets | Bike, Nest |
| Insects (general) | Horde, Nest, Plague, Rabble, Swarm |
| Jellyfish | Brood, Smack |
| Lice | Flock |
| Locusts | Plague |
| Midges | Bite |
| Mosquitoes | Scourge |
| Oysters | Bed |
| Scorpions | Bed, Nest |
| Spiders | Cluster, Clutter |
| Termites | Brood, Colony, Nest, Swarm |
| Wasps | Nest, Swarm |
| Worms | Bed, Bunch, Clat, Clew |
Collective nouns for single-celled organisms
| Organism | Collective Nouns |
| Bacteria | Culture |
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