The Collective Nouns Page

Here I have a large list of collective nouns. If you don't know what collective nouns are, they're terms for groups of things (animals, etc.). Read the list. You'll get the picture. Items that are in bold are ones I think are really cool.

Lovers of collective nouns should own James Lipton's An Exaltation of Larks, which I got for Christmas this year to my great delight.

And of course, I encourage visitors to this site to send in their own collective nouns, or e-mail me if there are any you are looking for that you don't see on this page.

Different kinds of fish and other aquatic creatures:

a shoal of bass
a bed of clams
a school of fish
a smack of jellyfish
a pod of seals
a hover of trout
a gam of whales
a pod of whales

And now, birds:

a dissimulation of birds
a flock of birds
a volery of birds
a peep of chickens
a brood of chicks
a clutch of chicks
a murder of crows
a dule of doves
a brace of ducks
a paddling of ducks
a charm of finches
a gaggle of geese
a cast of hawks
a siege of herons
a deceit of lapwings
an exaltation of larks
a tidings of magpies
a watch of nightingales
a pride of ostritches
a parliament of owls
a covey of partridges
a muster of peacocks
an ostentation of peacocks
a bouquet of pheasants
a bevy of quail
a covey of quail
an unkindness of ravens
a building of rooks
a squabble of seagulls
a walk of snipe
a host of sparrows
a murmuration of starlings
a mustering of storks
a flight of swallows
a wedge of swans
a spring of teal
a rafter of turkeys
a pitying of turtledoves
a fall of woodcocks
a descent of woodpeckers

Livestock types:

a drove of cattle
a rag of colts
a pace of donkeys
a trip of goats
a drift of hogs
a harras of horses
a barren of mules
a span of mules
a litter of pigs
a string of ponies
a flock of sheep
a drift of swine
a sounder of swine

Other large mammals:

a shrewdness of apes
a sloth of bears
a singular of boars
a herd of elephants
a gang of elk
a mob of kangaroos
a troop of kangaroos
a leap of leopards
a pride of lions
a crash of rhinoceroses
a bevy of roebucks
a pack of wolves
a route of wolves

Small mammals:

a cete of badgers
a clowder of cats
a business of ferrets
a skulk of foxes
a down of hares
a kindle of kittens
a labor of moles
a litter of pups
a nest of rabbits

Non-mammals:

a colony of ants
a hive of bees
an army of caterpillars
a plague of locusts
a knot of toads
a bale of turtles
a nest of vipers

Non-animate:

a clutch of eggs

Visitor Submissions:

From S.N., a "cynical psychiatric nurse":
An interference of social workers
An omnipotence of consultants
A mothering of nurses
A muddling of occupational therapists
A diagnosis of doctors
From David:
A boring of accountants.
A tedium of golfers.
From "John, Mandy, and Ria (aged 9)":
a desire of trams & a silence of trolleybuses.
a royal of swans and a cartload of monkeys.
From Percy:
An unction of undertakers
From Mark:
A consternation of snails

If you have any collective nouns to contribute, either real, from fiction (in this case please give me the author), or made-up, let me know and I'll add them! Send them to me at Ladykunzite@postmark.net.