Your friends (and even teachers) might give you weird looks if you use these terms when speaking. Thanks, and true I have never heard majority of these collective names. Since his book sold more than a hundred million copies worldwide, people have come to accept parliament as the best term to call a group of owls. Happy learning! Ferrets: business, hob (male), jill (female), kit (babies) Foxes: leash, skulk, or earth (this is the oddest of all group names in my opinion) Giraffes: tower. It's natural for people to consider mammals the pinnacle of evolution. The earliest collective nouns of animals were compiled in The Treatise, a book in the mid-1200s. Reptiles, like amphibians, make up a fairly small proportion of terrestrial animals, but as dinosaurs they ruled the Earth for over 150 million years. This name comes from our forefathers who noted that apes were mischievous in a playful manner. Eagles will look for other eagles during breeding season. A group of owls is called a parliament.
A bunch of hyenas is called a cackle. Birds are characterized by their coats of feathers, their warm-blooded metabolisms, their memorable songs (at least in certain species), and their ability to adapt to a wide range of habitats—witness the ostriches of the Australian plains and the penguins of the Antarctic coastline. A pride of lions, a murder of crows, a crash of rhinos, and every other collective noun for animals. There you have it, folks!
And if you do, just say "a group of . You'll never have to guess as to which group name is correct again. Collective names are not unique to animals. This term originates from a children’s book in the 1950s called The Chronicles of Narnia, in which the author describes a group of owls who meet to discuss the affairs of the land of Narnia. There are four basic types of reptiles: crocodiles and alligators; turtles and tortoises; snakes; and lizards. Crocodiles, being cold-blooded, love to bask in the sun to warm themselves. Bird Groups including wading birds, night birds, song birds and birds of prey. Some of these animals are solitary, so it is ironic that they have group names dedicated to their kind when they are rarely found in groups. ", Rahans, CC-BY-SA-4.0 via Wikimedia Commons, A group of nuns is referred to as "a superfluity. know.
Convocation means an assembly of people meeting for a special purpose. Amphibians including caecilians, frogs, toads, newts and salamanders. Cats are known to play with yarn and end up unrolling until the room is covered with yarn. There are many theories about the origin of the term, Murder of Crows. The first true vertebrates on Earth, fish evolved from invertebrate ancestors about 500 million years ago and have dominated the world's oceans, lakes, and rivers ever since. The first animals to evolve, as far back as a billion years ago, invertebrates are characterized by their lack of backbones and internal skeletons as well as their relatively simple anatomy and behavior, at least compared with those of most vertebrates. Ive been told a group of worms is called an Opeth. Donkeys: pace. The mischievous character of apes earned them the name, and thus a group of apes can be called a shrewdness of apes. Bob Strauss is a science writer and the author of several books, including "The Big Book of What, How and Why" and "A Field Guide to the Dinosaurs of North America. These animals are known to leap more than 20 feet and jump to about 10 feet high into the air. © Copyright 2003-2017: Dean Tersigni. A group of seagulls is called a squabble. The word squabble means a noisy disagreement about something. Raccoons can be seen to gaze at something especially food when they are hungry. ", A group of iguanas is referred to as "a slaughter. Vultures are known to circle waiting to scavenge on the kills of other animals.
A pride of lions, a murder of crows, a crash of rhinos, and every other collective noun for animals. A group of ferrets is called a business.
Amphibians are characterized by their semi-aquatic lifestyles (they must stay near bodies of water to maintain the moisture of their skin and to lay eggs), and today they are among the most endangered animals in the world. Nothing is more fascinating than discovering the unique name for a group of animals, amphibians, or insects.
We've gathered together a list of 60 groups of animals and their collective nouns - some animal groups can have more than one collective noun - that you may or may not have heard of. Buffalo: a gang, a troop, or an obstinacy, Cats: a clowder, a glaring, a nuisance, a clutter, Dogs: a pack, a cry (hounds), a mute (hounds), Hawks: a kettle (flight), a boil (spiraling), Horses: a team, a stable, a rag (colts), a string (ponies), a herd, Otters: a bevy, a raft, a family, a barren, Pigs: a drift or a drove or a sounder (boars), Rabbits: a colony, a warren, a herd (domestic), a litter (young), Zebras: a zeal, a crossing, a dazzle, a herd. Have you ever wondered what a particular group of animals is called? By Joyce Chepkemoi on April 23 2018 in Environment. These unique words that are used to describe a group of animals are called "collective nouns," and they date back to Medieval times. Also! But here's a couple notes. ", A group of crows is referred to as "a murder.". While some animals' collective names have become quite well-known over the years, most are still fairly obscure, and some are just downright strange.
Some examples include: Animal group names date back to medieval times when a list of collective terms for animals first appeared in The Book of Saint Albans, printed in 1486. Or that a crowd of sloths is referred to as a bed? Note: Wikipedia has a more complete and scholarly list of names here.
She enjoys staying up to date on trends, media, and emerging topics. Layne Holmes (author) from Bend, Oregon on May 23, 2019: I definitely had trivia night in mind! Another animal group that you may consider is a nag of wives and a jerk of husbands. Leap of Leopards Or, you may simple want to wow your biology class or use one of these terms for a description in your latest novel. For fun, people sometimes refer to a flock of birds as a murder of crows, a parliament of owls, an unkindness of ravens, an exaltation of larks. The custom of using “nouns of assembly” had origins in English hunting tradition back in the Late Middle Ages. Eagles normally fly alone and are rarely seen in large groups. Mob also describes a group of animals or birds that surround and attack a predator to drive it away. The basking in the sun is a social time for crocodiles with large numbers always seen basking together. If I left anything out, please let me know in the comments below. ", A group of butterflies is referred to as "a kaleidoscope. A group of rats or mice is called a mischief. To bask is to lie in the sun exposed to its warmth and light. Bears usually gather together in a breeding season and also to feed. The term gaze is used to describe a group of raccoons.
The variations to these collective nouns will entertain you! Group Names for Animals and Insects.
. Another theory is of an old story that is told of groups of crows judging members of their flock, and if found guilty, the rest would kill the guilty members, hence the name murder of crows. The list goes on. These unique words that are used to describe a group of animals are called "collective nouns," and they date back to Medieval times.
Animals—complex, multicellular organisms equipped with nervous systems and the ability to pursue or capture their food—can be divided into six broad categories. For example, did you know that a collection of crows is called a murder?
rather than the names on this list, since most of these terms are archaic and aren't very widely known. In the modern time, the popularity of the terms has led to the addition of many humorous collective nouns. This time was marked by a great increase in specialist vocabulary that involved using different names for same features in different animals.
A group of pheasants is called a bouquet. There are three main types of fish: bony fish, which includes such familiar species as tuna and salmon; cartilaginous fish, which includes sharks, rays, and skates; and jawless fish, a small family made up entirely of hagfish and lampreys). The word clowder is closely related to the word clutter which means to fill something with disordered items. I am going to print out the list and try to learn them, see how many I am going to remember off head. Discover interesting terms for words like a pandemonium of parrots or a charm of magpies. Dolphins: pod. Here are the six main animal groups, ranging from the simplest (the spineless invertebrates) to the most complex (mammals, which can adapt to a wide range of habitats). A group of crocodiles is called a bask. Elephants: herd, parade, or memory. The word fluther describe a group of jellyfish, which is derived from the word flutter which can be considered to mean moving in a light motion through the air.
Turkeys are vicious attackers and can even attack humans. Note: Wikipedia has a more complete and scholarly list of names here. Mob also describes a group of animals or birds that surround and attack a predator to drive it away. Sam majored in English and used to work as an English substitute teacher. When a large group of butterflies fly, they create a pattern of vivid colors and different shapes that keep on changing every movement.
Our class has been searching for the animal whose group is called a jug. Whenever animals gather in groups, they are formally called: Apes: a shrewdness; Badgers: a cete; Bats: a colony, cloud or camp Reptiles are characterized by their cold-blooded metabolisms—they fuel themselves by exposure to the sun—their scaly skin, and their leathery eggs, which they, unlike amphibians, can lay some distance from bodies of water. A group of sugar gliders is called a colony. Animal Collective Nouns.
Animal: Group Name: Albatross: Rookery: Alligators: Congregation: Apes: Shrewdness, Troop: Antelope: Herd: Ants: Colony, Army, Swarm, Nest: Asses: Pace, Herd, Drove: Auks: Colony, Flock, Raft: Baboons: Troop, Flange: Bacteria: Culture: Badgers: Cete, Colony, Set, Company: Barracudas: Battery: Bats: Colony, Cloud: Bass: Shoal: Bears (General) Sloth, Sleuth: Bears (Cubs) Litter: Beavers: Colony, Family: Bees
This led to the creation of the collective term "mutation.
The word first appeared in a 1986 book, the Book of St Albans. Cackle is a word that refers to laughing in a shrill, broken manner. Kangaroos form groups of about ten with a mission to protect the young and weaker members of the group. All maps, graphics, flags, photos and original descriptions © 2020 worldatlas.com, Names of Countries in Their Own Languages, The Causes And Effects Of Melting Glaciers, Countries Doing The Most To Combat Climate Change.