Glossary

All the collective nouns used in the book ‘Treasure Beyond Measure’ have been researched yet none are definitive. That’s the beauty of language -it’s constantly evolving and allows us to be as creative as we want to be when describing groups of animals.

Collective nouns have been used in the English Language for hundreds of years. They developed from words that captured people’s imagination and were gradually accepted into to everyday language. Generally they take what we know about the animal and use a feature to describe a group. Take lizards for instance, known to lounge around in the sun – so it’s no surprise to learn that a group is called ‘a lounge of lizards’. Similarly, giraffes are tall ;towers are tall; so it’s logical that a group of giraffes is called ‘a tower’. However, some animals have rather unusual collective nouns, the origin of which is unknown. For example, ‘a cabinet of yaks’ and ‘an implausibility of gnus’.

Many animals have more than one collective noun. In the book, Helen uses ‘a stand of flamingos’ but a group of flamingos is also known as ‘a flamboyance’. Either can be used.

Some animals share the same collective noun. We know that ‘herd’ and ‘flock’ are common terms for groups of animals but there’s something special about a word that’s been chosen for a unique species.

Other animals have different collective nouns depending on their location or activity. For instance, a group of otters on land are called ‘a romp’ yet in the water, they are known as ‘a raft’.

Some animals don’t even have a collective nouns because they are generally solitary creatures – for example, koala and octopus – but that doesn’t stop us making up a collective noun if we really want to!

This glossary lists alphabetically some of the terms used for many, but not all, creatures. You may find animals listed that you’ve never heard of, why not take a moment to find out a bit more about them? Or if your favourite animal isn’t listed, you could find it out for yourself or create your own collective noun for it.

aardvark	armoury
albatross	rookery, weight
alligators	congregation
ants	army, bike, colony, nest, swarm (flying)
antelope	herd, cluster, tribe
apes	shrewdness, troop
baboons	troop, flange
bacteria	culture
badgers	cete, clan, colony
barracudas	battery
bass	shoal, fleet
bats	colony, cloud
bears	sloth, sleuth,
bear cubs	litter
beavers	colony, family, lodge
bees	grist, hive swarm
bellbirds	chiming, pealing, tintinnabulation
birds	brace, dissimulation (small birds), rush (migrating), volery (in aviary)
bison	herd
bitterns	sedge, siege, pretence
bobolinks	chain
buffalo	gang, obstinacy
bullfinches	bellowing
buzzards	wake, kettle, pack
camels	caravan, flock, train, herd
capons	mews
capybara	herd
caribou	herd
caterpillars	army
cats	clowder, pounce, destruction
cattle	drove, herd
cheetah	coalition
chicks	chattering, clutch
chickens	brood, peep
chinchilla	colony
clams	bed
cobras	quiver
cockroaches	intrusion
cod	lap
coots	cover
corgi	consort
cormorants	gulp
cows	herd, kine, flink, drift, drove, mob
coyotes	band, pack, rout, run
crabs	cast
cranes	sedge, seige
crickets	orchestra
crocodiles	bask, float, nest
crows	horde, murder, cauldron, caucus, cowardice, hover, muster, parcel,
dachshunds	moxie
deer	herd, bevy (only for roe deer)
dodos	extinction
dogs	pack (if wild), cowardice (curs), leash (greyhounds), sute (bloodhounds) cry, mute, pack, kennel (for hounds)
dolphins	pod
donkeys	drove, herd, pace
dotterel	trip
doves	dule, pitying (turtle doves only)
dragons	doom, flight, weyr, wing
ducks	team, balding, flock (flying), paddling, raft (on water)
dunlins	fling
eagles	aerie, convocation, jubilee, soar, spread
eels	bed, fry, swarm
elephants	herd, memory, parade
emus	mob
elk	gang
falcons	cast
ferrets	business, cast, fesnying
finches	charm, chirm, company, trembling, trimming
fish	draft, nest, school, shoal (live) catch, drought, haul (dead)
flamingos	stand, flamboyance, flurry, skein, regiment
flies	business, cloud, swarm, hatch, grist
flying fish	glide
fox	leash, skulk, earth, lead, troop
frogs	army, colony, knot, froggery
geese	flock, gaggle (grounded), skein (flying)
giraffes	tower, totter, stretch, herd, corps, journey
gnats	cloud, horde, swarm
gnus	implausibility, herd
goats	tribe, trip, drove, flock, herd,
goldfish	glint, troubling
gorillas	band, trip, woop
goshawks	flight
grasshoppers	cloud, cluster, swarm
grouse	pack
guillemots	bazaar
guinea fowl	confusion
gulls	colony
hares	down, husk, leap
hawks	boil (when spiraling in flight), cast, kettle (large numbers in flight)
hedgehogs	array, prickle
herons	sedge, siege
herring	army
hippopotamuses	bloat, thunder, huddle
hornets	bike, nest
horses	team, harras, rag (colts), stud horses owned by one person)
hummingbirds	charm, hover
hyenas	cackle , clan
iguanas	mess
Impalas	herd
Insects	horde, nest, plague, rabble, swarm
jays	party, scold, cast, band
jellyfish	brood, smack, fluther
kakapo	booming, rumble, trek
kangaroos	mob, troop, court, flock
kittens (cats)	kindle, litter, intrigue
lambs	fall
lapwings	deceit
larks	exaltation, ascension, happiness
leopards	leap
lice	flock
lions	pride, sault, troop, sowse
lizards	lounge
locust	plague
lynx	chain
magpies	charm, gulp, murder, tiding
mallards	sord (flying)
martens	richness
mice	mischief
midges	bite
moles	labour, company, slouch, movement
monkeys	troop, barrel, mission, tribe, cartload
moose	herd
mosquitoes	scourge
mules	pack, span, barren, rake
mussels	bed
nightingales	watch
ostriches	wobble, pride, flock
otters	bevy, family, raft, romp, ramp
oxen	team, yoke
owls	parliament, stare, wisdom, sagaciousness
oysters	bed
parrots	pandemonium, company, flock, prattle, psittacosis
partridge	covey, bevy, cover, warren, clutch, brace
peacocks	ostentation, muster, pride, pulchritude
pelicans	pod
penguins	colony, huddle, parade, parcel, rookery, waddle, icing, march
pheasant	bouquet, nest, nide, nye
pigeons	flight, flock, kit
pigs	drift, drove, team, litter (piglets), sounder (swine only) passel (hogs only), singular (for boars)
plovers	congregation, wing (when flying)
polar bears	aurora, pack
polecats	chine
ponies	string
poodles	salon
porcupines	prickle
porpoises	crowd, herd, pod, school, shoal, turmoil, gam
ptarmigans	covey
puffins	improbability, loomery
pukekos	potter, gawky
pugs	grumble
quail	bevy, covey
rabbits	colony, warren, next, herd (pets only), litter, wrack (young rabbits)
raccoons	gaze, mask, nursery
rattlesnakes	rhumba
rats	colony, pack, plague, swarm, mischief
ravens	storytelling, unkindness, conspiracy, constable, tower
reindeer	herd
rhinoceroses	crash, herd, stubbornness
roebucks	bevy
rooks	building, clamor, parliament
ruffs	hill
salamanders	congress
sardines	family
scorpions	bed, nest
seabirds	wreck, screech, squabble, flotilla
seals	bob, harem, herd, pod, spring, rockery, plump
sharks	shiver
sheep	drove, flock, herd
sheldrakes	doading
skylarks	exaltation
skunks	surfeit, stench
slugs	cornucopia
snails	escargatoire, rout, walk
Snakes/vipers	den, generation, knot, nest, pit
snipe	walk, wisp
sparrows	host, meinie, quarrel, ubiquity
spiders	cluster, clutter
springbok	herd
squirrels	dray, scurry
starling	murmuration
stingrays	fever
stoats	pack, trip
storks	mustering, phalanx, silence, swoop, flight
swallows	flight
swans	bevy, wedge (flying), regatta (on water)
swifts	flock
takahe	tussock
teal	spring, diving
termites	brood, colony, nest, swarm
thrush	mutation
tigers	ambush, streak, hide
toads	knab, knot, nest, lump
tortoises	creep
toucans	durante
trout	hover, shoal
tui	ecstasy
turkeys	gang, rafter, dule, gang, posse, raffle
turtles	bale, dole ,nest, turn
unicorns	blessing, glory, marvel
vultures	kettle (flying), venue
walruses	herd, pod, ugly
wasps	nest, swarm, pail
waterfowls	knob, plump, raft
weasles	gang, colony, pack, sneak
whales	pod, gam, herd, school, grind
widgeons	company
wildfowl	plump
wolves	pack, rout, route (when moving)
wombats	wisdom
woodcocks	fall
woodpeckers	descent, gatling
worms	bed, bunch, clat, clew, wriggle
wrens	herd
zebras	zeal, crossing, dazzle, cohort, herd, stripe