List of collective nouns for birds

Collective nouns for animals
	Birds; Fish, invertebrates, and plants; Mammals; Reptiles and amphibians; Other collective nouns This box: view • talk • edit

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A group of birds of any type is generically known collectively as a flock. For a number of individual birds, there exist poetic collective nouns particular to the type of bird. Many of these collective nouns are fanciful, and not in common use in English. The book An Exaltation of Larks by James Lipton is a good reference for the collective nouns and their etymology, the third edition being the most well-researched.

[edit] Standard English Terms and Terms following the Middle English tradition

Bird	Collective noun	Source/Origin
birds	A flock of birds
birds (small)	A dissimulation of birds	Juliana Berners Book of St. Albans
birds	A covey of birds	^{[citation needed]}
auks	A raft of auks	^{[citation needed]}
bitterns	A siege of bitterns	Juliana Berners Book of St. Albans
bullfinches	A bellowing of bullfinches	^{[citation needed]}
buzzards	A wake of buzzards	^{[citation needed]}
capons	A mews of capons	^{[citation needed]}
chickens	A peep of chickens	Juliana Berners Book of St. Albans
chicks	A clutch of chicks	^{[citation needed]}
hens	A brood of hens	Juliana Berners Book of St. Albans
choughs (i.e. jackdaws)	A clattering of choughs	John Lydgate Debate between the Horse, Goose and Sheep; Juliana Berners Book of St. Albans
concords	A flight of concords	^{[citation needed]}
coots	A covert of coots	Juliana Berners Book of St. Albans
coots	A raft of coots	^{[citation needed]}
cormorants	A flight of cormorants	^{[citation needed]}
cranes	A herd of cranes	Juliana Berners Book of St. Albans
crows	A horde of crows	^{[citation needed]}
crows	A hover of crows	^{[citation needed]}
crows	A mob of crows	^{[citation needed]}
crows	A murder of crows	^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5]
crows	A muster of crows	^{[citation needed]}
crows	A parcel of crows	^{[citation needed]}
crows	A parliament of crows	^{[citation needed]}
curlews	A herd of curlews	Juliana Berners Book of St. Albans
dotterel	A trip of dotterel	^[6]
doves	A dole/dule of doves	Juliana Berners Book of St. Albans
doves	A flight of doves	Juliana Berners Book of St. Albans
doves	A piteousness of doves	^{[citation needed]}
doves	A pitying of doves	^{[citation needed]}
ducks	A dopping of ducks (diving)	^{[citation needed]}
ducks	A plump of ducks (flying)	^{[citation needed]}
ducks	A paddling of ducks (on water)	^{[citation needed]}
ducks	A badling of ducks	Juliana Berners Book of St. Albans
ducks	A flush of ducks	^{[citation needed]}
ducks	A raft of ducks	^{[citation needed]}
ducks	A sord of ducks	^{[citation needed]}
ducks	A team of ducks	^{[citation needed]}
ducks	A twack of ducks	^{[citation needed]}
dunlin	A fling of dunlins	^{[citation needed]}
eagles	A congress of eagles	^{[citation needed]}
eagles	A convocation of eagles	^{[citation needed]}
falcons	A cast of falcons	^{[citation needed]}
finches	A charm of finches	^{[citation needed]}
finches	A trembing of finches	^{[citation needed]}
finches	A trimming of finches	^{[citation needed]}
flamingoes	A stand of flamingoes	^{[citation needed]}
flamingoes	A flamboyance of flamingoes	^{[citation needed]}
galahs	A pack of galahs	^{[citation needed]}
goldfinches	A drum of goldfinches	^{[citation needed]}
goldfinches	A troubling of goldfinches	^{[citation needed]}
goldfinches	A charm of goldfinches	^{[citation needed]}
goldfinches	A chirm of goldfinches	Juliana Berners Book of St. Albans
geese	A gaggle of geese	Juliana Berners Book of St. Albans
geese	A wedge of geese (flying)	^{[citation needed]}
geese	A flock of geese	^{[citation needed]}
geese	A nide of geese	^{[citation needed]}
geese	A skein of geese	^{[citation needed]}
geese	A plump of geese (on water)	^{[citation needed]}
goshawks	A flight of goshawks	Juliana Berners Book of St. Albans
grouse	A covey of grouse	^{[citation needed]}
grouse	A lek of grouse	^{[citation needed]}
grouse	A pack of grouse	^{[citation needed]}
guillemots	A bazaar of guillemots	^{[citation needed]}
guinea fowl	A rasp of guinea fowl	Shot-gun and Sunlight - The Game Birds of East Africa By Lieut.-Colonel B. G. Lynn-Allen Published by Batchworth Press in 1951
gulls	A colony of gulls	^{[citation needed]}
gulls	A screech of gulls	^{[citation needed]}
hawks	A cast of (tame) hawks (=2)	Juliana Berners Book of St. Albans
hawks	A lease of (tame) hawks (=3)	Juliana Berners Book of St. Albans
hawks	A kettle of hawks	^{[citation needed]}
herons	A siege of herons	Juliana Berners Book of St. Albans
hummingbirds	A charm of hummingbirds	^{[citation needed]}
jackdaws	A clattering of jackdaws	G. W Lemon English Etymology^[7]
jackdaws	A train of jackdaws	Gilbert White The Natural History of Selborne^[8]
jays	A band of jays	^{[citation needed]}
jays	A party of jays	^{[citation needed]}
jays	A scold of jays	^{[citation needed]}
lapwings	A desert of lapwings	Juliana Berners Book of St. Albans
larks	A bevy of larks	^{[citation needed]}
larks	An exaltation of larks	^{[citation needed]}
larks	An exalting of larks	Juliana Berners Book of St. Albans
magpies	A conventicle of magpies	^{[citation needed]}
magpies	A tidings of magpies	Juliana Berners Book of St. Albans
mallards	A sute of mallards	Juliana Berners Book of St. Albans
mallards	A sord of mallards	Juliana Berners Book of St. Albans
martins	A richness of martins	^{[citation needed]}
mudhen	A fleet of mudhen	^{[citation needed]}
nightingales	A watch of nightingales	Juliana Berners Book of St. Albans
owls	A parliament of owls	^{[citation needed]}
owls	A stare of owls	^{[citation needed]}
parrots	A company of parrots	^{[citation needed]}
parrots	A prattle of parrots	^{[citation needed]}
parrots	A pandemonium of parrots	^{[citation needed]}
partridges	A covey of partridges	Juliana Berners Book of St. Albans
peacocks	A muster of peacocks	Juliana Berners Book of St. Albans
peacocks	A pride of peacocks	^{[citation needed]}
peacocks	An ostentation of peacocks	^{[citation needed]}
penguins	A colony of penguins	^{[citation needed]}
penguins	A creche of penguins	^{[citation needed]}
penguins	A huddle of penguins	^{[citation needed]}
penguins	A parcel of penguins	^{[citation needed]}
pheasants	A bouquet of pheasants	^{[citation needed]}
pheasants	A covey of pheasants	^{[citation needed]}
pheasants	A nide of pheasants	^[9]
pheasants	A nye of pheasants	Juliana Berners Book of St. Albans
pigeons	A kit of pigeons	^{[citation needed]}
pigeons	A loft of pigeons	^{[citation needed]}
pigeons	A plague of pigeons	^{[citation needed]}
plovers	A congregation of plovers	Juliana Berners Book of St. Albans
ptarmigan	A covey of ptarmigans	^{[citation needed]}
quail	A bevy of quail	Juliana Berners Book of St. Albans
quail	A covey of quail	^{[citation needed]}
ravens	An unkindness of ravens	Juliana Berners Book of St. Albans
rooks	A building of rooks	Juliana Berners Book of St. Albans
rooks	A clamour of rooks	^{[citation needed]}
rooks	A parliament of rooks	^{[citation needed]}
ruffs	A hill of ruffs	^{[citation needed]}
sandpipers	A fling of sandpipers	^{[citation needed]}
sea fowl	A cloud of sea fowl	^{[citation needed]}
seagulls	A flock of seagulls	^{[citation needed]}
sheldrakes	A doading of sheldrakes	^{[citation needed]}
skylarks	An exultation of skylarks	^{[citation needed]}
snipe	A walk of snipe	Juliana Berners Book of St. Albans
snipe	A wisp of snipe	^{[citation needed]}
sparrows	A host of sparrows	Juliana Berners Book of St. Albans
sparrows	A quarrel of sparrows	^{[citation needed]}
sparrows	A ubiquity of sparrows	^{[citation needed]}
starlings	A murmuration of starlings	Juliana Berners Book of St. Albans
storks	A muster of storks	^{[citation needed]}
storks	A phalanx of storks	^{[citation needed]}
swallows	A flight of swallows	Juliana Berners Book of St. Albans
swans	A gaggle of swans	^{[citation needed]}
swans	A wedge of swans (flying)	^{[citation needed]}
swans	A bank of swans	^{[citation needed]}
swans	A bevy of swans	^{[citation needed]}
swans	A whiteness of swans	^{[citation needed]}
swans	A herd of swans	Juliana Berners Book of St. Albans
swans	An eyrar of swans	Oxford English Dictionary
swans	A gargle of swans	^{[citation needed]}
teal	A diving of teal	^{[citation needed]}
teal	A spring of teal	Juliana Berners Book of St. Albans
thrushes	A mutation of thrushes	^{[citation needed]}
turkeys	A raffle of turkeys	^{[citation needed]}
turkeys	A rafter of turkeys	^{[citation needed]}
turtle doves	A dole/dule of turtledoves	Juliana Berners Book of St. Albans
turtle doves	A pitying of turtledoves	^{[citation needed]}
waterfowl	A knob of waterfowl	^{[citation needed]}
waterfowl	A plump of waterfowl	^{[citation needed]}
wigeon	A coil of wigeon	^{[citation needed]}
woodpeckers	A descent of woodpeckers	^{[citation needed]}
woodcocks	A fall of woodcocks	Juliana Berners Book of St. Albans
wrens	A herd of wrens	Juliana Berners Book of St. Albans

[edit] Spurious, Unverified and Misapprehended Terms

Bird	Collective noun	Source/Origin
birds	A volery of birds	Chaucer, The Pardoner's Tale^{[citation needed]}
bitterns	A sedge of bitterns	mistaken for siege
poultry	A run of poultry	not a collective noun
cocks	A Yeomans of cocks	^{[citation needed]}
cranes	A sedge of cranes	mistaken for siege
crows	A storytelling of crows	^{[citation needed]}
curlews	A head of curlews	mistaken for herd
doves	A prettying of doves	mistaken for pittying
lapwings	A deceit of lapwings	misapprehension of desert
partridges	A bew of partridges	? a mistake for bevy
penguins	A rookery of penguins	not a collective term
ravens	A conspiracy of ravens	^{[citation needed]}
ravens	A murder of ravens	mistaken for crows
ravens	A storytelling of ravens	^{[citation needed]}
swallows	A gulp of swallows	Spurious^{[citation needed]}

[edit] References

^ Louise Spilsbury & Richard Spilsbury, "A Murder of Crows" (2003) ISBN 1-4034-0742-8
^ Fun With Words: Collective Nouns
^ 'Murder of Crows, A' Description
^ grammarphobia commentary on date of origin of the term
^ http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/murder
^ "Baltimore Bird Club: Discussion of Group Names (Mostly from BIRDCHAT) 1995". http://baltimorebirdclub.org/gnchat.html#9.
^ George William Lemon. English Etymology, Or, a Derivative Dictionary of the English Language. London: G. Robinson, 1783.
^ Gilbert White. The Natural Nistory of Selborne. London: N. Hailes, 1833. p. 163.
^ [1] morewords.com

[edit] External links

A list of collective nouns for birds

[0] Louise Spilsbury & Richard Spilsbury, "A Murder of Crows" (2003) ISBN 1-4034-0742-8

[1] Fun With Words: Collective Nouns

[2] 'Murder of Crows, A' Description

[3] rammarphobia commentary on date of origin of the term

[4] ttp://dictionary.reference.com/browse/murder

[5] "Baltimore Bird Club: Discussion of Group Names (Mostly from BIRDCHAT) 1995". http://baltimorebirdclub.org/gnchat.html#9.

[6] George William Lemon. English Etymology, Or, a Derivative Dictionary of the English Language. London: G. Robinson, 1783.

[7] Gilbert White. The Natural Nistory of Selborne. London: N. Hailes, 1833. p. 163.

[8] [1] morewords.com

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List of collective nouns for birds

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Contents

[edit] Standard English Terms and Terms following the Middle English tradition

[edit] Spurious, Unverified and Misapprehended Terms

[edit] References

[edit] External links

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