150+ Collective Nouns for Animals & Where They Come From

Prides and gaggles and murders, oh my! The world of group names for animals is wacky and colorful, and we’ve compiled over 150 interesting, descriptive, and just downright funny collective terms for your favorite mammals, birds, reptiles, bugs, and sea creatures. Plus, we’ll explain where these bizarre names even came from to begin with. Read on to learn more!

Funniest Animal Group Names

A murder of crows
A dazzle of zebras
A conspiracy of lemurs
A gaggle of geese
A galaxy of starfish

Section 1 of 8:

Names for Groups of Mammals & Marsupials

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Some mammals are known to form complex groups with social hierarchies. Not all mammals enjoy company in the wild, but many species live in groups for protection. Some even hunt and attack enemies together, showing complex social cooperation (remember those orca pods attacking yachts?).^{[1]
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Research source} Here’s what you can call a group of mammals:^{[2]
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- Apes: a shrewdness
- Badgers: a cete or colony
- Bats: a cauldron
- Bears: a sloth or sleuth
- Buffalo: a gang or obstinacy
- Cats: a clowder, pounce, or glaring
- Cheetahs: a coalition
- Deer: a brace (two) or leash (three)
- Dogs: a pack (wild) or cowardice (curs)
- Dolphins: a herd, school, or pod
- Donkeys: a pace or herd
- Echidnas: a parade
- Elephants: a parade
- Elk: a gang
- Ferrets: a business
- Fox: a leash, skulk, or earth
- Fur seals: a harem (belonging to one male)
- Giraffes: a tower or herd
- Goats: a tribe or trip
- Gorillas: a band
- Hares: a down, husk, or leash
- Hedgehogs: an array
- Hippopotamuses: a bloat or thunder
- Horses: a harras, span (team of two), or string
- Hyenas: a cackle
- Jaguars: a shadow
- Kangaroos: a troop or mob
- Kittens: a kindle, litter, or intrigue
- Lemurs: a conspiracy
- Leopards: a leap
- Lions: a pride
- Martens: a richness
- Mice: a mischief or nest
- Moles: a labor
- Monkeys: a troop or barrel
- Mules: a pack, span, or barren
- Otters: a romp
- Pigs: a drift, drove, sounder, team, or passel
- Platypus: a paddle
- Porcupines: a prickle
- Porpoises: a pod, school, herd, or turmoil
- Prairie dogs: a coterie
- Puppies: a litter
- Rabbits: a colony, berry, warren, nest, down, husk, or herd (domestic only)
- Rhinoceroses: a crash
- Roes: a bevy
- Rooks: a building or parliament
- Seals: a plump, spring, colony, or harem
- Sheep: a flock, fold, mob, or wing
- Squirrels: a dray (nest) or scurry
- Tigers: an ambush or streak
- Whales: a pod, gam, or herd
- Wild cats: a destruction
- Wolves: a pack, rout, or route (when in movement)
- Wombats: a wisdom
- Zebras: a zeal or dazzle

Section 2 of 8:

Names for Groups of Birds

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Many bird species flock together for all or part of the year. Many birds flock together year-round for protection and to find food, while some only gather for mating season or to migrate. Different species of birds have even been sighted flocking together to form extra huge groups!^{[3]
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Research source} If you spot a group of birds flying overhead, here’s what you can call them:^{[4]
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- Bitterns: a sedge
- Buzzards: a wake
- Bobolinks: a chain
- Choughs: a clattering
- Coots: a cover
- Cormorants: a gulp
- Crows: a murder or horde
- Dotterel: a trip
- Doves: a dule or pitying (specific to turtle doves)
- Ducks: a brace, team, flock (in flight), raft (on water), paddling, or badling
- Dunlins: a fling (in flight)
- Eagles: a convocation or aerie
- Emus: a mob
- Falcons: a cast (a pair released after game)
- Finches: a charm or chirm
- Flamingos: a stand or flamboyance
- Fowl: a plump, trip, or skein (in flight)
- Geese: a flock, gaggle (on the ground), or skein (in flight)
- Goldfinches: a charm
- Grouse: a pack (in late season)
- Hawks: a cast, kettle (in flight), or boil (two or more spiraling in the air)
- Herons: a sedge or siege
- Jays: a party or scold
- Lapwings: a deceit
- Larks: an exaltation
- Magpies: a tiding, gulp, murder, or charm
- Mallards: a sord (on the ground) or brace
- Nightingales: a watch
- Owls: a parliament
- Parrots: a pandemonium or company
- Partridge: a covey
- Peafowl or peacocks: an ostentation or muster
- Penguins: a colony, muster, parcel, or rookery
- Pheasant: a nest, nide (a brood), nye, or bouquet
- Pigeons: a kit
- Plovers: a congregation or wing (in flight)
- Ptarmigans: a covey
- Quail: a bevy or covey
- Ravens: an unkindness
- Rooks: a building
- Ruffs: a hill
- Sheldrakes: a dropping
- Snipes: a walk or wisp
- Sparrows: a host
- Starlings: a murmuration
- Storks: a mustering
- Swans: a bevy, game, or wedge (in flight)
- Teal: a spring
- Turkeys: a rafter or gang
- Waterfowl: a bunch, knob (less than 30), or raft (on water)
- Woodcocks: a fall
- Woodpeckers: a descent

Section 3 of 8:

Names for Groups of Reptiles & Amphibians

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Most reptiles prefer solitude, but some naturally form groups or families. You’ll most likely see groups of reptiles at pet stores, but this isn’t necessarily their preferred living situation—caging too many together can make them feel stressed, crowded, or territorial. However, some reptiles and amphibians (like many turtle species and geckos) fare well in large groups.^{[5]
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Research source} Here are the words you can use in case you discover a rare group of reptiles together:^{[6]
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- Alligators: a congregation
- Axolotls: a harem
- Cobras: a quiver
- Crocodiles: a bask
- Frogs: an army
- Geckos: a clutter
- Iguanas: a mess or slaughter
- Toads: a knot
- Turtles: a bale or nest
- Salamanders: a maelstrom
- Snakes and vipers: a nest

Section 4 of 8:

Names for Groups of Fish & Sea Creatures

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Many marine animals like fish live in groups, but others are more solitary. Sea creatures include fish, mollusks and shellfish, crustaceans, and more—even some mammals, reptiles, and amphibians!^{[7]
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Research source} While some species, like fish, live most of their lives together, others (like squids) only come together for hunting or mating purposes. Here are the most common group names for sea creatures:^{[8]
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- Clams: a bed
- Crabs: a consortium
- Fish (general): a draft, nest, run, school, or shoal
- Herring: an army
- Jellyfish: a bloom, fluther, or smack
- Lobsters: a risk
- Manta rays: a squadron
- Oysters: a bed
- Seahorses: a herd
- Sharks: a shiver
- Squid: an audience
- Starfish: a galaxy
- Stingrays: a fever
- Trout: a hover

Section 5 of 8:

Names for Groups of Insects

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Most insects don’t form groups unless they need to mate or travel. There are some obvious exceptions, like ants that live in colonies or bees that build and guard nests, but many other species (think flies, butterflies, or mosquitoes) live on their own most of the time.^{[9]
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Research source} However, you don’t have to just call the gathering a swarm—here are more creative names for giant groups of bugs and insects:^{[10]
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- Ants: a colony or army
- Bees: a grist, hive, or swarm
- Butterflies: a kaleidoscope or flutter
- Caterpillars: an army
- Cockroaches: an intrusion
- Dragonflies: a flight or cluster
- Flies: a business
- Gnats: a cloud or horde
- Grasshoppers: a cloud
- Hornets: a nest or bike
- Ladybugs: a loveliness
- Locusts: a plague
- Mosquitoes: a scourge
- Moths: an eclipse
- Scorpions: a nest or bed
- Slugs: a herd or cornucopia
- Snails: a hood
- Spiders: a cluster or clutter
- Termites: a brood

Section 6 of 8:

Spotlight on Unique Animal Group Names

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A murder of crows Contrary to their group name, crows aren’t murderous (although new research shows they can hold a grudge and remember a face!).^{[11]
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Research source} The term “murder” most likely comes from superstition. It was believed that a group of crows would gather to decide the fate of other crows, or to circle around sites where animals or humans were expected to die soon.^{[12]
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- Because they’re scavengers, crows are also associated with graveyards, battlefields, and dead bodies.
2
A pride of lions There are multiple theories about where the term “pride” comes from. Some think it’s because of lions’ association with royalty, while some suggest it may be linked to the Latin word praeda (meaning “prey,” referring to how lions hunt together).^{[13]
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- Whatever the reason, “pride” is actually a pretty old term for a group of lions that didn’t gain popularity until the early 1900s.
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A school of fish A “school” of fish doesn’t actually refer to the academic building (that’s not to say fish aren’t smart, though!). The term actually comes from the Middle Dutch word schole or the Old English scolu, meaning “multitude” or “group of fish.” The term “shoal” (which can refer to either a group of fish or shallow water) also comes from the same roots.^{[14]
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- The root of “school” (as in the place you go to learn math) comes from the Greek word scholē, meaning “leisure.”
“Gaggle” probably comes from the Middle English gagel (meaning “cackling” or “chattering”).^{[15]
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Research source} A group of geese is called a gaggle on the ground because they’re disorganized, loud, and rowdy—very different from their orderly formations when they’re flying!^{[16]
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A kaleidoscope of butterflies Some animal group names don’t come from ancient root words or superstitions, but from how humans actually see and interact with these creatures. For example, a group of butterflies is called a kaleidoscope because of all the fluttering colors, patterns, and movement you see when they’re flying together.^{[17]
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- “Kaleidoscope” is unique among animal group names—it’s the only one on our list named after a human invention.

Section 7 of 8:

Where do animal group names come from?

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Many animal group names in English come from The Book of Saint Albans. The book, possibly translated from French into English in 1486, was written by Juliana Berners. The book includes many “terms of venery” (a fancy way to say a term for a collection or group of animals). These words are colorful, descriptive, and primarily used to describe groups of animals that were hunted for sport, food, or fur in the Middle Ages.^{[18]
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- Berners had a deep knowledge of wildlife, and some of the terms may be based on her own observations and meant to be playful (rather than academic).
- “Venery” comes from the Latin words venor (to hunt) and veneria (referring to goddess Venus or lust). Both meanings allude to “the chase” and became applied to hunted animals in the 1400s.
- Berners is credited as being one of (if not the) first woman to write about the English language.
- You’ve probably noticed there are way more names for groups of mammals and birds. That’s because people in the Middle Ages hunted those animals the most.

Section 8 of 8:

Frequently Asked Questions: Animal Group Names

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Are these animal group names official? No—many of them are descriptive and fun, but are not considered official or scientific terms. As much as you might wish you had to say “a dazzle of zebras” to be considered correct, using more generic terms like “herd,” “flock,” or “swarm” is just as acceptable (and probably easier to understand for most people).
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Why do animals gather in groups? Animals might gather in groups for a variety of reasons. Prey animals often find safety in numbers and can protect themselves from predators better together than individually. Some animals may primarily live solo, but come together in groups to feed, mate, or migrate together. And, just like humans, some animals simply need companionship to thrive!
3
What is a collective noun? A collective noun is a word that refers to a group of people or things. For example, words like “team” or “flock” are collective nouns.^{[19]
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Research source} They’re interesting because the speaker is choosing to use a whole new word to describe a group instead of just making the members of the group plural (for example, saying “the team” instead of “the humans”).