If this lady had a few more emus, she would have a mob.
I learned yesterday from a twitter friend that one of the collective nouns for jellyfish is fluther. Isn’t that a wonderful word? That got me thinking about all of the interesting group names for animals. A wake of buzzards. A murder of crows. And at the opposite end of the spectrum is a charm of finches and a gaze of raccoons. Whether spooky or beautiful, animals have neat names.
To learn more, I tracked down a list of collective nouns for animals on the San Diego Zoo’s website. Below are some of my favorites. Enjoy.
alligators: congregation
beavers: family
boars: sounder
buffalo: gang
buzzards: wake
camels: train
cats: clowder, cluster, glaring, pounce
chickens: brood, peep
cockroaches: intrusion
crocodiles: bask, float
crows: murder
doves: flight
emus: mob
ferrets: business
finches: charm
geese: gaggle
goldfish: troubling
hawks: boil, cast, kettle
hippos: bloat
hyenas: cackle
jellyfish: smack
lions: pride
leopards: leap
moles: labor
otters: romp
oysters: bed
pheasants: bouquet
prairie dogs: coterie
raccoons: gaze
spiders: clutter
starlings: chattering
trout: hover
walruses: pod
Ooh, I love these. Let me add “A Sleuth of Bears” and a “Parliament of Rooks.”
Thanks for adding those. They sure are lovely.
These are great. I wonder how old and established some of these are, though. Someone was having too much fun inventing “an intrusion of cockroaches.” And what’s troubling about goldfish?
Some of these do sound newer. Perhaps that would be a good project for you.
Reblogged this on Making Hay and commented:
“An intrusion of cockroaches”. Perfect
Ahh, the English language. I have always loved “a murder of crows”, but “a cackle of hyenas” is also wonderfully appropriate!
Thanks for the great post.
Also there is a parliment of owls which is quite interesting!!
Love the site by the way!!
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