While you may be aware of some of the more common collective names for animals, such as a herd of sheep or a pod of whales, almost all animals have a collective name. Many have more than one collective name, which may be for different purposes. For example, geese are known as a gaggle when they are on the ground, but in flight, a group of geese is called a skein.
Collective animal names come from many different sources. Many of these names come from descriptions that describe the animal, such as a flamboyance of flamingos, a tower of giraffes, or a dazzle of zebras.
Many of the names below are not used anymore but are still relevant to the animal and can give us an insight into their behaviour.
A
- Albatross – Rookery, flock, gam (searching for a mate)
- Alligator – Congregation, pod
- Alpaca – Herd
- Ant – Colony, army, bike, nest, swarm, state
- Antelope – Herd
- Ape – Shrewdness, troop
- Armadillo – Pack
- Ass – Herd
B
- Baboon – Congress, flange, tribe, troop
- Bacteria – Culture
- Badger – Cete, sett
- Barracudas – Battery
- Bass – Shoal
- Bat – Colony, cloud, cauldron, camp
- Bear – Sleuth, sloth
- Beaver – Colony, family
- Bee – Swarm, grist, hive, bike, drift, swarm
- Beetle – Swarm
- Bird – Flock, flight, congregation, volery, fleet, flight, parcel, pod,
- Bison – Gang, herd, obstinacy
- Bitterns – Sedge
- Bloodhounds – Sute
- Boar – Sounder, shoat,
- Bobolinks – Chain
- Buck – Brace, clash
- Butterflies – Kaleidoscope, flutter, or swarm, rabble
- Buzzard – Wake
C
- Camel – Flock, caravan, train, herd
- Caribou – Herd
- Cat – Clowder, pounce, glaring, clutter, litter (young), kindle (kittens), destruction (wild cats)
- Caterpillar – Army
- Cattle – Herd, drove, drift, mob
- Chamois – Herd
- Cheetah – Coalition
- Chicken – Brood (Hens), clutch (chicks), chattering (chicks), peep (chicks), flock
- Clam – Bed
- Cobra – Quiver
- Cockroach – Intrusion
- Cod – School
- Colt – Rag, rake
- Coots – Cover
- Cormorant – Gulp
- Cow – Kine, flink (12 cows)
- Coyote – Band, rout, pack
- Crabs – Cast, consortium
- Crane – Sedge, seige
- Crocodile – Float, bask
- Crow – Murder, muster, horde, unkindness, conspiracy
D
- Deer – Herd, mob, parcel
- Dog – Kennel, Pack (wild), Litter (pups), cowardice (curs)
- Dolphin – Pod, school, herd
- Donkey – Herd, pace, drove
- Dotterels – Trip
- Dove – Dule, Pitying (turtle doves)
- Duck – Brace, paddling, team, bunch, flock (flying), raft (on water), brace, paddling, badling
E
- Eagle -Convocation, Brod, Aerie,
- Eel – Cell, pipe, swarm, bed
- Elephant – Herd, parade, memory
- Elk – Gang, herd
- Emu – Mob
F
- Falcon – Cast
- Ferret – Business, fesnyng,
- Finch – Charm
- Fish – School, shoal, run, haul, catch, draft, nest, run
- Flamingo – Flamboyance, stand,
- Flies – Business, swarm, hatch, cloud, swarm
- Fox A skulk or leash of foxes
- Fox – Leash, skulk, earth
- Frog – Army, colony, knot
G
- Geese – Flock, gaggle, skein (flight), wedge (v-shaped flight)
- Gerbil – Horde
- Giraffe – Corps, group, herd, tower
- Gnat – Cloud, horde
- Gnu Herd
- Gnus – Implausibility
- Goat – Herd, tribe, trip, drove, flock
- Goldfinch – Charm
- Goldfish – Troubling
- Gorilla – Band, troop
- Grasshopper – Cloud, swarm
- Greyhound – Leash
- Grouse – Pack
- Guinea Pig – Group
- Gull – Colony
H
- Hamster – Horde
- Hare – Down, husk
- Hawk – Cast, kettle, boil
- Hawks: cast, kettle (when in flight), or boil (when there are two or more spiralling in air)
- Hedgehog – Array
- Hen – Brood
- Heron – Siege, sedge
- Herring – Army
- Hippo – Bloat, herd, thunder
- Hog – Drift, parcel, drove, litter (young)
- Hornet – Nest
- Horse – Team, pair, harras, herd, stable, team
- Hound – Pack, mute, cry
- Hummingbird – Charm
- Hummingbirds: charm
- Hyena – Cackle, clan
I
- Iguanas – Slaughter
J
- Jaguars – Shadow, prowl
- Jays – Scold, party
- Jellyfish – Smuck, brood, bloom, fluther, smack
K
- Kangaroo – Troop, mob, herd
- Kitten – Kindle, litter, intrigue
- Komodo dragons – Bank
L
- Lapwings – Deceit
- Lark – Ascension, exaltation
- Lemurs – Conspiracy
- Leopard – Leap, prowl
- Lice – Flock
- Lion – Pride
- Llama – Herd
- Lobsters – Risk
- Locust – Plague, cloud
- Lyrebirds – Musket
M
- Magpie – Tiding, tittering, charm, gulp
- Mallard – Sord, brace, flush, lutte, puddling, sord (flight)
- Manatee – Herd
- Mare – Stud
- Marten -Richness
- Mink – Company
- Minnow – Steam
- Mole – Labor, movement
- Monkey – Troop, cartload, barrel
- Moose – Herd
- Mosquitoes – Swarm, scourge
- Mouse – Horde, mischief
- Mule – Barren, span, rake, pack, barren
N
- Narwhals – Blessing
- Nightingale – Watch
O
- Octopus – Consortium, rally
- Ostrich – Flock, troop
- Otters – Family, raft, romp
- Owl – Parliament, stare, wisdom
- Ox – Yoke, drove, team, nye, a herd of oxen
- Oyster – Bed
P
- Panda – Amalgamation, embarrassment
- Parrot – Company, pandemonium
- Partridge – Covey
- Peacock – Muster, ostentation
- Pelicans – Pod, squadron
- Penguins – Convent, colony, tuxedo, colony, muster, parcel, or rookery
- Pheasant – Nest, nide (brood), nye, guff (inflight), bouquet (take-off)
- Pigs – Litter, sounder, drift, drove (young), team (older pigs), passel
- Pigeon – Flock, flight
- Plover – Wing (flight), congregation
- Polar Bears – Pack, aurora, celebration
- Polecat – Chine
- Pony – String
- Porcupines – Prickle
- Porpoise – Pod, herd, school, turmoil,
- Prairie dogs – Colonies, coteries
- Ptarmigans – Covey
Q
- Quail – Covey, bevy, jug
R
- Rabbit – Nest, colony, drove, leash, trace, warren, herd, husk, down
- Raccoon – Gaze, nursery, boars (groups of males), sows (groups of females)
- Rat – Pack, swarm, horde, mischief, colony
- Rattlesnake – Rhumba
- Ravens – Unkindness
- Reindeer – Herd
- Rhinoceros – Crash, herd, stubbornness
- Roebuck – Bevy
- Rooks – Building, clamour
S
- Salamanders – Maelstrom
- Salmon – Run
- Sardine = Family
- Sea Lion – Pod, colony, crash, flock, harem, herd, rookery, team, hurdle
- Seagulls – Squabble
- Seal – Herd, pod, rookery, harem
- Serval – Pack
- Shark – Shiver, school, shoal, slew
- Sheep – Drove, flock, herd
- Skunk – Odour, stench
- Sloth – Bed
- Snails – Rout, walk, hood, escargatoire
- Snake Nest, knot, bed, pit, den
- Snipe – Walk, wisp
- Sparrow – Host
- Spider – Cluster
- Squid – Audience, dray (mother and babies in nest), scurry,
- Starling – Murmuration
- Stingrays – Fever
- Stork – Mustering
- Swallow – Flight
- Swan – Bevy, herd, lamentation, wedge, flock, herd, team, game (inflight), wedge (v-shaped flight)
- Swift – Flock
- Swine – Sounder, drift
T
- Teal – Spring
- Termite – Colony, swarm (inflight)
- Thrushes – Mutation
- Tiger – Streak, ambush
- Toad – Knot, knab, lump
- Trout – Hover
- Turkey – Rafter, flock, gang
- Turtle – Bale, dule, herd
- Turtle dove – Pitying, dule
V
- Viper – Nest, generation
- Vultures – Venue, committee, kettle, wake (feeding on carcass)
W
- Wallaby – Mob
- Walrus – Pod, herd
- Wasp – Pledge, colony
- Weasel – Pack, gang, colony
- Whale – School, gam, pod, herd
- Wolf – Pack, route (when moving)
- Wombat – Mob, wisdom
- Woodcock – Fall
- Woodpecker – Descent
- Worms – Bunch
Y
- Yak – Herd
Z
- Zebra – Dazzle, herd, zeal