Groups of Animals: 110+ Interesting Collective Nouns for Animals

A group of animals is a collection of animals of the same species living and interacting together in a particular area or habitat. Some common terms for groups of animals include herd, pack, flock, and colony. The specific term used to describe a group of animals can vary depending on the species of animal and the context in which they are found. For example, a group of cows is called a herd, a group of wolves is called a pack, a group of birds is called a flock, and a group of bees is called a hive or a colony.

In this lesson, we learn some interesting names for groups of animals in English. Here, we show a list of names for groups of animals and a list of collective nouns for animals in English.

Groups of Animals

What Is a Group of Animals?

A group of animals is a collection of individual animals that belong to the same species and are usually found together. Groups of animals can be formed for a variety of reasons, such as for protection, to find food, or to reproduce. The size and structure of a group of animals can vary depending on the species and the environment in which they live. Some groups of animals, like packs of wolves or pride of lions, have a hierarchical social structure with a dominant individual or individuals leading the group. Other groups, like schools of fish or flocks of birds, may have more decentralized social structures.

Whether it is a group of mammals, birds, or even insects, there is a unique collective noun to identify the specific group, although some of these names are rarely used.

Names for Groups of Animals

Here is a list of collective names for groups of animals you should know.

• Mallards: a sord, a brace
• Magpies: a tiding, a gulp, a murder or a charm
• Nightingales: a watch
• Owls: a parliament
• Parrots: a pandemonium, a company
• Crabs: a consortium
• Herring: an army
• Sharks: a shiver
• Trout: a hover
• Bees: a grist, a hive, a swarm
• Caterpillars: an army
• Clams: a bed
• Cockroaches: an intrusion
• Flies: a business
• Grasshoppers: a cloud
• Lions: a pride
• Martens: a richness
• Moles: a labor
• Monkeys: a troop, a barrel
• Mules: a pack, a span or a barren
• Jellyfish: a bloom, a fluther, a smack
• Lobsters: a risk
• Oysters: a bed
• Snails: a hood
• Squid: an audience
• Apes: a shrewdness
• Badgers: a cete
• Otters: a romp
• Rhinoceroses: a crash
• Squirrels: a dray,  scurry
• Tigers: an ambush, a streak
• Bats: a cauldron
• Bears: a sloth, a sleuth
• Bitterns: a sedge
• Buzzards: a wake
• Bobolinks: a chain
• Coots: a cover
• Cormorants: a gulp
• Buffalo: a gang, an obstinacy
• Cats: a clowder, a pounce, a glaring
• Dogs: a litter, a pack
• Donkeys: a pace
• Elephants: a parade
• Elk: a gang
• Ferrets: a business
• Fox: a leash, a skulk, an earth
• Giraffes: a tower
• Goats: a tribe, a trip
• Gorillas: a band
• Hippopotamuses: a bloat, a thunder
• Hyenas: a cackle
• Jaguars: a shadow
• Kangaroos: a troop, a mob
• Lemurs: a conspiracy
• Leopards: a leap
• Whales: a pod, a school, or a gam
• Crows: a murder, a horde
• Dotterel: a trip
• Ducks: a brace, a team, a flock (in flight)
• Eagles: a convocation
• Finches: a charm
• Flamingos: a stand
• Geese: a flock
• Grouse: a pack
• Hawks: a cast
• Herons: a sedge, a siege
• Jays: a party, a  scold
• Lapwings: a deceit
• Larks: an exaltation
• Partridge: a covey
• Peafowl: an ostentation, a muster
• Penguins: a colony, a muster, a parcel, a rookery
• Plovers: a congregation, a wing (in flight)
• Ptarmigans: a covey
• Rooks: a building
• Quail: a bevy, a covey
• Ravens: an unkindness
• Snipe: a walk, a wisp
• Sparrows: a host
• Starlings: a murmuration
• Storks: a mustering
• Swans: a bevy
• Teal: a spring
• Turkeys: a rafter, a gang
• Woodcocks: a fall
• Woodpeckers: a descent
• Cobras: a quiver
• Crocodiles: a bask
• Frogs: an army
• Toads: a knot
• Turtles: a bale, a nest
• Salamanders: a maelstrom
• Snakes: a nest

Collective Nouns for Animals

Here are some collective nouns for animals in English.

• A sord of mallards
• A brace of mallards
• A tiding of magpies
• A gulp of magpies
• A murder of magpies
• A watch of nightingales
• A parliament of owls
• A consortium of crabs
• An army of herring
• A shiver of sharks
• A hover of trout
• A grist of bees
• A hive of bees
• A swarm of bees
• A company of parrots
• An army of caterpillars
• A bed of clams
• A business of flies
• A cloud of grasshoppers
• A richness of martens
• A pride of lions
• A labor of moles
• A troop of monkeys
• A barrel of monkeys
• A pack of mules
• A barren of mules
• A span of mules
• A bloom of jellyfish
• A smack of jellyfish
• A fluther of jellyfish
• A risk of lobsters
• A bed of oysters
• A hood of snails
• An audience of squid
• A colony of penguins
• A rookery of penguins
• A parcel of penguins
• A muster of penguins
• A wing of plovers
• A cete of badgers
• A dray of squirrels
• A sloth of bears
• An ambush of tigers
• A chain of bobolinks
• A gang of buffalo
• A glaring of cats
• A pack of dogs
• A gang of elk
• An earth of fox
• A tribe of goats
• A covey of ptarmigans
• A covey of quail
• A romp of otters
• A scurry of squirrels
• A sleuth of bears
• A streak of tigers
• A cover of coots
• An obstinacy of buffalo
• A pounce of cats
• A pace of donkeys
• A business of ferrets
• A skulk of fox
• A trip of goats
• A building of rooks
• An unkindness of ravens
• A shadow of jaguars
• A band of gorillas
• A bevy of quail
• A cackle of hyenas
• A conspiracy of lemurs
• A mustering of storks
• A gam of whales
• A horde of crows
• A mob of kangaroos
• A flock of ducks
• A wisp of snipe
• A charm of finches
• A pod of whales
• A pack of grouse
• A bale of turtles
• A siege of herons
• A murder of crows
• A deceit of lapwings
• A muster of peafowl
• An ostentation of peafowl
• A brace of ducks
• A knot of toads
• An exaltation of larks
• A walk of snipe
• A party of jays
• A murmuration of starlings
• A flock of geese
• A cast of hawks
• A sedge of herons
• A stand of flamingos
• A shrewdness of apes
• A scold of jays
• A team of ducks
• A crash of rhinoceroses
• A covey of partridge
• A cauldron of bats
• A sedge of bitterns
• A trip of dotterel
• A wake of buzzards
• An army of frogs
• A gulp of cormorants
• A clowder of cats
• A school of whales
• A litter of dogs
• A nest of turtles
• A parade of elephants
• A leap of leopards
• A leash of fox
• A host of sparrows
• A tower of giraffes
• A troop of kangaroos

Groups of Animals | Infographic

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