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
Grammar Party 
Ooh, I love these. Let me add “A Sleuth of Bears” and a “Parliament of Rooks.”
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Thanks for adding those. They sure are lovely.
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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?
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Some of these do sound newer. Perhaps that would be a good project for you.
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Reblogged this on Making Hay and commented:
“An intrusion of cockroaches”. Perfect
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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. 🙂
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Also there is a parliment of owls which is quite interesting!!
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Love the site by the way!!
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