Animal Group Terminology
You might be familiar with some groups of animals and their collective nouns, such as a herd of horses or a gaggle of geese. These are fairly common terms that many people associate with a particular gathering of animal species.
Some animal group terminology is obscure, unexpected, or incredibly specific. For example, a group of Indonesian mountain weasels is called a boogle!
Additionally, some animal names can be easily confused – did you know that a flock of ravens is not called a murder, but an unkindness of ravens? It’s actually a murder of crows.
So, do you know what to call a group of rhinos or jellyfish? Read on for a list of animal group names from a shrewdness of apes to a flamboyance of flamingos!
Species Name
Animal Group Name
Classification: Mammals
Aardvarks
Armory
Antelopes
Herd, Cluster, or Tribe
Apes
Shrewdness or Troop
Armadillos
Roll
Baboons
Flange or Troop
Badgers
Cete
Bats
Colony
Bears
Sleuth or Sloth
Beavers
Colony
Boars
Singular
Buffalo
Gang, Obstinacy, or Herd
Camels
Caravan
Cats
Clowder, Cluster, Glaring, or Pounce; Litter or Kindle (for kittens); Destruction (for wild cats)
Cattle
Drove or Herd
Cheetahs
Coalition
Deer
Herd or Bevy
Dogs
Pack, Mute, or Kennel; Litter (for puppies)
Donkeys (or Asses)
Pace or Drove
Dugong
Herd
Elephants
Parade or Herd
Elk
Gang or Herd
Emus
Mob
Ferrets
Business
Fox
Leash, Skulk, or Earth
Giant Panda
Sleuth
Giraffes
Tower
Goats
Tribe or Trip
Gorillas
Band
Hares
Husk or Down
Hippopotamuses
Bloat or Thunder
Hogs
Passel or Team
Horses
Team, Harras, or String; Rag (for colts); Stud (for a breeding group)
Hyenas
Cackle
Indonesian Mountain Weasels
Boggle
Jaguars
Leap, Prowl, or Parade
Kangaroos
Troop or Mob
Lemurs
Conspiracy
Leopards
Leap
Lions
Pride
Manatees
Aggregation
Martens
Richness
Mice
Horde or Mischief
Moles
Labor
Monkeys
Troop or Barrel
Mules
Pack, Span, or Barren
Otters
Romp or Raft
Oxen
Team or Yoke
Pigs
Drift, Drove, or Team
Porcupines
Prickle
Porpoises
Pod, Shoal, or School
Rabbits
Colony, Warren, or Nest
Raccoons
Smack, Gaze, or Nursery
Rats
Mischief
Rhinoceroses
Crash or Stubbornness
Seals
Pod
Sheep
Drove, Flock, or Herd
Skunks
Surfeit or Stench
Squirrels
Dray or Scurry
Swine
Sounder
Tigers
Streak or Ambush
Weasels
Gang or Sneak
Whales
Pod, Gam, or Herd
Wolves
Pack or Rout
Wombats
Wisdom
Zebras
Herd, Dazzle, or Zeal
Species Name
Animal Group Name
Classification: Birds
Birds in General
Flight, Flock, Volary, or Brace
Birds in a Breeding Colony
Rookery
Bitterns
Sedge
Blackbirds
Grind
Bobolinks
Chain
Budgerigars
Chatter
Bullfinches
Bellowing
Buzzards
Wake
Bobolinks
Chain
Chickens
Brood or Peep
Chicks (Of Many Species)
Brood or Clutch
Coots
Cover
Cormorants
Gulp or Flight
Cranes
Sedge
Crows
Murder or Horde
Dotterel
Trip
Doves
Dole/Dule, Bevy, Piteousness, or Pitying
Ducks
Raft, Bunch, or Paddling (when on water); Flock, Flush, Badling, Badelynge, Safe, or Team (when in flight)
Eagles
Convocation
Falcons
Cast
Finches
Charm
Flamingos
Stand or Flamboyance
Geese
Flock, Gaggle, or Skein
Grouse
Pack
Gulls
Colony
Hawks
Cast, Kettle, or Boil
Herons
Sedge or Siege
Jackdaws
Clattering or Train
Jays
Party or Scold
Lapwings
Deceit
Larks
Exaltation or Ascension
Mallards
Sord or Brace
Magpies
Tiding, Gulp, Murder, or Charm
Nightingales
Watch
Owls
Parliament
Parrots
Company or Pandemonium
Partridge
Covey
Peacocks
Muster or Ostentation
Penguins
Colony
Pheasant
Nest, Nide, Brood, Nye, or Bouquet
Pigeons
Flock, Litter, Kit, or Loft
Plovers
Congregation or Wing
Ptarmigans
Covey
Quail
Bevy or Covey
Ravens
Unkindness
Robins
Round
Rooks
Building, Clamor, or Parliament
Seagulls
Flock, Colony, Squabble, Flotilla, Scavenging, or Gullery
Snipe
Walk or Wisp
Sparrows
Host
Starlings
Murmuration
Storks
Mustering
Swallows
Flight
Swans
Bevy or Wedge
Teal
Spring
Turkeys
Rafter or Gang
Vultures
Committee
Widgeons
Company
Woodcocks
Fall
Woodpeckers
Descent
Species Name
Animal Group Name
Classification: Reptiles and Amphibians
Alligators
Congregation
Cobras
Quiver
Crocodiles
Bask
Frogs
Army
Lizards
Lounge
Rattlesnakes
Rhumba
Toads
Knot
Tortoises
Creep
Turtles
Bale or Nest
Snakes
Vipers’ Nest, Snakes’ Den, Ball, or Slither
Classification: Fish
Fish in General
Draft, Nest, School, or Shoal
Bass
Shoal
Dogfish
Troop
Eels
Bed or Swarm
Goldfish
Troubling
Herring
Army
Koi
Glint
Sharks
Shiver
Stingrays
Fever
Trout
Hover
Classification: Invertibrates
Ants
Colony
Bees
Grist, Hive, or Swarm
Butterflies
Kaleidoscope, Flight, Flutter, or Rabble
Caterpillars
Army
Clams
Bed
Cockroaches
Intrusion
Flies
Business
Gnats
Cloud or Horde
Grasshoppers
Cloud
Hornets
Nest
Jellyfish
Smack
Lobsters
Risk
Locusts
Plague or Cloud
Octopuses
Consortium
Oysters
Bed
Scorpions
Bed or Nest
Snails
Escargatoire, Walk, or Rout
Spiders
Clutter or Cluster
Squids
Shoal
Wasps
Pledge
Gaggles and Murders and Swarms, Oh My!
From mammals to fish, birds to invertebrates, these are some of the most interesting animal names. Which one surprised you the most?
If you have an idea for an unlisted animal group name, like a constellation of star-nosed moles or a flatulence of flounders, why not drop us a line and let us know? There are plenty of animal group names out there, but the most obscure creatures might still need collective nouns!
Next up, check out the Can You Name These Baby Animals quiz or test your Endangered Animals knowledge.
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Gestation, Incubation, and Longevity of Selected Animals
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