Animal group names
Did you know that animals have collective noun terms? This post is ALL about them: we cover the names for animal collectives, broken down by species and animal type. It’s safe to say that this list is pretty wild, pun intended.
Regale in the absurdity of these animal collective group names, such as an implausibility of gnus, or a mischief of mice. We hope you find these names entertaining, at the very least.
What are singular and plural nouns?
When we speak or write, we communicate in count or number even if we don’t consciously realize it. Language is structured to reflect the count of subjects (or sentence objects) by distinguishing between when there is one of something, or more than one: i.e., singular and plural noun forms. Grammar rule: singular nouns refers to one subject or object. Plural nouns refers to more than one person, place, thing or idea.
What’s a collective noun?
We’re not talking about the band, Animal Collective, though they do make good music. In English, nouns (which are names given to people, places, things and ideas) come in two kinds, singular or plural, as mentioned in the above section. When it comes to animals, things can get a bit tricky, since animals are creatures that roam either on their own, like a lone wolf; other times, they live in groups, such as any of the herd species.
Because of the variety of ways in which animals live with respect to quantity or count, English has evolved to reflect their ways of social or asocial living. The following are a comprehensive live list of animal collective nouns, for your reference and ease of perusal.
A list of all the animal collective group names
| animal (mammals) | collective name |
| Cheetahs | A coalition |
| Apes | A shrewdness or troop |
| Dolphins | A pod, herd or school |
| Elephants | A parade or herd |
| Bears | A slot/sleuth |
| Donkeys | A herd or pace |
| Elk | A gang or herd |
| Giraffes | Tower or herd |
| Horses | A harras, span or string |
| Mice | A mischief or nest |
| Lions | A pride |
| Monkeys | A troop |
| animal (birds) | collective name |
| Bitterns | A sedge |
| Bobolinks | A chain |
| Buzzards | Wake |
| Coots | A cover |
| Cormorants | A gulp |
| Dotterel | Trip |
| Grouse | A pack |
| Hawks | Cast or kettle |
| Herons | Sedge or siege |
| Jays | Party or scold |
| Lapwings | A deceit |
| Larks | An exaltation! |
| Mallards | A sord |
| Magpies | Tiding or gulp |
| Nightingales | A watch |
| Partridge | A covey |
| Peafowl | An ostentation |
| Penguins | Colony, muster, parcel or rookery |
| Parrots | A pandemonium |
| Geese | A gaggle (on ground), a skein (in flight), a wedge (in-flight, in v-formation) |
| Flamingos | A flamboyance |
| Crows | A murder |
| Ravens | An unkindness |
| Eagles | A convocation, aerie |
| Emus | Mob |
| Doves | A dole |
| Ducks | A paddling or raft (on water) |
| Bees | A grist, hive or swarm |
| Caterpillars | An army |
| Clams | A bed |
| Crabs | A consortium |
| Cockroaches | An intrusion |
| Flies | A business |
| Jellyfish | A bloom, fluther or smack |
| Squid | An audience |
Sources
- Animal Collective
