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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Groups of Animals

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Groups of Animals

Last Updated on January 9, 2023

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