Animals, both wild and domestic, often live in social groups, which are given unique names to describe their collective identity. From funny animal group names such as a “prickle of porcupines” to more bizarre and intriguing names like a “murder of crows.”
These group names can be fascinating, ranging from the familiar to the obscure, and they often reflect the behavior, habitat, or appearance of the animals they describe.
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Understanding animal group names can help us appreciate the diversity of the natural world and deepen our understanding of the behavior and interactions of different species!
Antelope: a herd.
Ants: a colony or an army.
Apes: a shrewdness.
Baboons: a troop.
Badgers: a cete.
Bass: a shoal.
Bats: a colony, cloud or cauldron.
Bears: a sloth or sleuth; Cubs: a litter.
Beavers: a colony.
Bees: a swarm.
Boar: a sounder.
Buffalo: a gang or obstinacy.
Camels: a caravan.
Caterpillars: an army.
Cats: a clowder, glaring, pounce, nuisance or clutter; Kittens: a litter or kindle; Wild cats: a destruction.
Cattle: a herd or drove.
Cheetahs: a coalition.
Chickens: a brood or peep; Chicks: a clutch or chattering.
Clams: a bed.
Cobras: a quiver.
Colts: a rag.
Cows: a kine, drove, herd or fold; twelve or more cows are a flink.
Coyotes: a band.
Cranes: a sedge.
Crocodiles: a float or bask.
Crows: a murder.
Deer: a herd.
Dogs: a pack or cowardice; Puppies: a litter.
Dolphins: a pod.
Donkeys: a drove.
Doves: a dule.
Ducks: a brace, paddling or team.
Eagles: a convocation.
Elephants: a herd or parade.
Elk: a gang or herd.
Emus: a mob.
Falcons: a cast.
Ferrets: a business or fesnyng.
Finches: a charm.
Fish: a school, shoal, run, haul or catch.
Flamingos: a stand or flamboyance.
Flies: a swarm, hatch or business.
Foxes: a skulk or leash.
Frogs: an army or a colony.
Geese: a gaggle or flock, a skein when in flight.
Giraffes: a tower.
Gnats: a cloud or horde.
Goats: a herd, tribe or trip.
Goldfinches: a charm.
Goldfish: a troubling.
Gorillas: a band.
Grasshoppers: a cloud.
Greyhounds: a leach.
Hares: a down or husk.
Hawks: a cast or kettle.
Hippopotami: a bloat or thunder.
Hogs: a drift or parcel.
Horses: a team or harras.
Hounds: a pack, mute or cry.
Hyenas: a cackle.
Jaguars: a shadow.
Jellyfish: a smack or brood.
Kangaroos: a troop or mob.
Larks: an ascension or exaltation.
Lemurs: a conspiracy.
Leopards: a leap.
Lice: a flock.
Lions: a pride.
Locust: a plague or cloud.
Magpies: a tiding or tittering.
Mallards: a sord.
Manatees: an aggregation.
Mares: a stud.
Martens: a richness.
Minnows: a steam.
Moles: a labor.
Monkeys: a barrel, cartload or troop.
Mules: a pack, barren or span.
Nightingales: a watch.
Otters: a family, romp or raft.
Owls: a parliament.
Oxen: a team or yoke.
Oysters: a bed.
Parrots: a pandemonium or company.
Partridges: a covey.
Peacocks: a muster or ostentation.
Penguins: a colony.
Pheasants: a nest, nide or bouquet.
Pigeons: a flock or flights.
Pigs: a drift or drove (younger pigs), or a sounder, litter or team (older pigs).
Ponies: a string.
Porcupines: a prickle.
Rabbits: a colony or warren.
Raccoons: a gaze.
Rats: a colony, pack, swarm or mischief.
Rattlesnakes: a rhumba.
Ravens: an unkindness.
Rhinoceroses: a crash.
Sharks: a shiver.
Sheep: a drove or flock.
Skunks: a stench.
Snakes: a nest or knot.
Sparrows: a host.
Squirrels: a dray or scurry.
Starlings: a murmuration.
Stingrays: a fever.
Storks: a mustering.
Swans: a bevy or lamentation, a wedge when in flight .
Tigers: an ambush or a streak.
Toads: a knot or knab.
Trout: a hover.
Turkeys: a gang, posse or rafter.
Turtles: a bale or nest.
Vultures: a venue.
Wasps: a pledge.
Weasels: a colony, gang or pack.
Whales: a pod, school or gam.
Wolves: a pack or route.
Wombats: a wisdom.
Woodpeckers: a descent.
Zebras: a zeal.