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What is a group of owls called?
A parliament
Owls have been associated with wisdom since ancient Greece, so a "parliament" of owls makes perfect sense.
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What is a group of crows called?
A murder
A murder of crows comes from medieval folklore where crows held trials and executed wrongdoing members.
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What is a group of flamingos called?
A flamboyance
A flamboyance perfectly captures their spectacle, thousands of bright pink birds gathered together.
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What is a group of rhinos called?
A crash
A "crash" reflects a rhino's tendency to charge unpredictably, they can reach 50 km/h.
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What is a group of cats called?
A clowder
A group of cats is a clowder, though you're more likely to find them stubbornly ignoring each other.
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What is a group of jellyfish called?
A bloom
Jellyfish blooms can contain millions of individuals and span hundreds of square kilometres of ocean.
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What is a group of giraffes called?
A tower
A tower perfectly describes giraffes, the tallest land animal on Earth, reaching up to 6 metres.
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What is a group of hyenas called?
A cackle
A cackle refers to their eerie laughing call, actually a sign of social excitement or submission.
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What is a group of butterflies called?
A kaleidoscope
A kaleidoscope of butterflies perfectly names the endless variety of wing patterns gathered together.
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What is a group of otters called?
A romp
Otters in water are called a float, on land their playful nature earns them the name a "romp".
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What is a group of meerkats called?
A mob
A mob of meerkats can have up to 30 members, sentinels, pup-sitters and foragers all with defined roles.
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What is a group of sharks called?
A shiver
The name "shiver" captures the chill of seeing multiple sharks, or the shiver of their movement through water.
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What is a group of gorillas called?
A troop
A gorilla troop is led by a dominant silverback male who makes all movement and social decisions.
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What is a group of bears called?
A sleuth
A "sleuth" of bears comes from an old Norse word, it reflects their deliberate, investigative way of moving.
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What is a group of ravens called?
An unkindness
Ravens earned "an unkindness" from their reputation as omens of death, long associated with battlefields.
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What is a group of crocodiles called?
A bask
A bask of crocodiles captures their sun-warming behaviour, they cannot produce their own body heat.
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What is a group of lemurs called?
A conspiracy
Lemurs were named after the Roman spirits of the dead, hence a mysterious "conspiracy" of lemurs.
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What is a group of hummingbirds called?
A charm
A charm of hummingbirds is perfectly named, their iridescent feathers create a shimmering, magical display.
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What is a group of whales called?
A pod
Whale pods are tightly bonded family units, humpbacks in the same pod have been tracked together for decades.
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What is a group of peacocks called?
A muster
A muster of peacocks gathering for display is one of nature's most spectacular visual performances.
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What is a group of pugs called?
A grumble
Named for their grumpy faces and signature snorting sounds when they gather together.
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What is a group of porcupines called?
A prickle
A prickle of porcupines, fitting for animals with 30,000 quills each.
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What is a group of eagles called?
A convocation
A convocation of eagles, from the Latin for "calling together". Eagles gather at feeding sites.
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What is a group of zebras called?
A dazzle
A dazzle of zebras, their stripes create a dazzling visual effect that confuses predators.
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What is a group of frogs called?
An army
An army of frogs, though their nighttime chorus sounds more like a choir than a military march.
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What is a group of wolves called?
A pack
A wolf pack is actually a family, usually two parents and their pups from several years.
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What is a group of hippos called?
A bloat
A bloat of hippos, they spend 16 hours a day submerged in water, bloated and content.
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What is a group of parrots called?
A pandemonium
A pandemonium of parrots, perfectly describes the noise when hundreds gather in the treetops.
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What is a group of penguins called?
A waddle
A waddle of penguins on land, a raft in water. Emperor penguins huddle in groups of thousands.
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What is a group of lions called?
A pride
A pride of lions is the only truly social cat group, typically 10-20 related females, their cubs, and a coalition of males.
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What is a group of starlings called?
A murmuration
A murmuration of starlings can include a million birds moving as one, each bird tracks only seven neighbours to create the rippling pattern.
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What is a group of elephants called?
A parade
A parade of elephants is led by the oldest matriarch, her memory of watering holes during drought can save the whole family.
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What is a group of apes called?
A shrewdness
A shrewdness of apes reflects their problem-solving intelligence, tool use, planning and deception all well documented.
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What is a group of kittens called?
A kindle
A kindle of kittens, from the Middle English "kindelen," meaning "to give birth." A group of adult cats becomes a clowder.
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What is a group of foxes called?
A skulk
A skulk of foxes, from Old Norse "skolka," meaning to lurk or hide, which matches their elusive nature perfectly.
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What is a group of larks called?
An exaltation
An exaltation of larks, named for their famous ascending song flights, where males climb 100 m while singing uninterrupted.
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What is a group of ladybugs called?
A loveliness
A loveliness of ladybugs, they gather in clusters of thousands to overwinter, often in the same rocky crevice every year.
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What is a group of mice called?
A mischief
A mischief of mice, fitting for animals that can squeeze through a 6 mm gap and chew through almost anything softer than steel.
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What is a group of goldfinches called?
A charm
A charm of goldfinches, from the Old English "c'irm," meaning a blended noise of voices. Their twittering flocks sound like jangling bells.
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What is a group of leopards called?
A leap
A leap of leopards, perfectly captures their explosive climbing ability and vertical jumps of up to 3 m into trees.
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What is a group of magpies called?
A tiding
A tiding of magpies, from the old rhyme counting magpies to foretell news: "one for sorrow, two for joy..."
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What is a group of salmon called?
A run
A run of salmon, thousands returning upstream to their birthplace, leaping waterfalls against currents they last saw as babies.
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What is a group of seals called?
A harem
A harem of seals, dominant males defend groups of 40+ females on crowded breeding beaches, rarely leaving even to eat.
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What is a group of snails called?
An escargatoire
An escargatoire of snails, a 17th-century French coinage. Romans actually farmed snails in "cochlearia," purpose-built enclosures.
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What is a group of sparrows called?
A host
A host of sparrows, from biblical usage, implying vast multitudes. House sparrows are one of the most widespread birds on Earth.
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What is a group of squirrels called?
Either A or B
A scurry OR a dray of squirrels, both are correct. "Dray" also refers to their twig-and-leaf tree nests.
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What is a group of stingrays called?
A fever
A fever of stingrays, groups of thousands migrate together through warm shallows, creating rippling "rays" of motion.
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What is a group of swans called?
Either A or B
Swans in flight form a "wedge," on water a "bevy," and grieving they become a "lamentation", reflecting their lifelong pair bonds.
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What is a group of toads called?
A knot
A knot of toads, in breeding season hundreds entangle in shallow water, forming literal writhing knots of limbs.
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What is a group of turkeys called?
A rafter
A rafter of turkeys, named because they roost high up on tree branches like rafters, despite being heavy and awkward in flight.
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What is a group of turtles called?
Either A or B
A bale OR a turn of turtles, both archaic. On land, baby sea turtles racing to the sea are informally called an "arribada".
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What is a group of vultures called?
All valid
A wake of vultures feeding, a committee resting, a kettle in flight, three different terms for the same birds in three different states.
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What is a group of woodpeckers called?
A descent
A descent of woodpeckers, they feed in a spiral down tree trunks, hence "descent." Their skulls have shock-absorbing spongy bone.
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What is a group of kangaroos called?
A mob
A mob of kangaroos, can number 100+ and is led by the dominant male known as the "boomer." They communicate by foot-thumping.
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What is a group of geese called?
Either depending on state
A gaggle on the ground, a skein in flight. Skeins fly in V-formation, each bird drafts off the one ahead, saving energy.
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What is a group of herons called?
A siege
A siege of herons, from their patient, motionless hunting posture. They can stand for hours before striking at a fish.
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What is a group of oxen called?
All valid
A team, yoke, or drove of oxen, all correct. A single oxen pair in harness is a yoke; moving together on a road they're a drove.
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What is a group of ostriches called?
A wobble
A wobble of ostriches, their running gait is anything but wobbly, but the name describes their head motion as they sprint.
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What is a group of peafowl called?
An ostentation
An ostentation of peafowl, the male's fanned tail contains around 200 eye-spots designed to stop predators and stun peahens.
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What is a group of baboons called?
A congress
A congress of baboons, perfectly captures their loud, argumentative social structure with up to 250 members in one group.
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What is a group of buffalo called?
An obstinacy
An obstinacy of buffalo, fitting for animals that will stand their ground against lions. Cape buffalo kill more hunters annually than any other African animal.
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What is a group of ants called?
All valid
Driver ant armies can number 20 million, they march in columns, swarm prey, and sleep by linking bodies into living shelters.
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What is a group of bees called?
All valid
A swarm of bees flying, a hive at home, a grist in storage. A single swarm can contain 30,000 bees splitting from an overpopulated hive.
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What is a group of octopuses called?
A consortium
A consortium of octopuses, coined in 2019 by scientists who discovered octopus "cities" in Australia where dozens coexist.
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What is a group of storks called?
Either A or B
A muster or clatter of storks, clatter from their beak-clacking greetings, which they repeat for minutes on end at the nest.
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What is a group of tigers called?
Either A or B
A streak or ambush of tigers, both fit, though tigers are mostly solitary. Cubs form temporary streaks with their mother.
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What is a group of bats called?
Either A or B
A cauldron of bats in flight, a colony at roost. Mexican free-tailed bat colonies can number 20 million in a single cave.
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What is a group of chickens called?
All valid
A brood (with a mother), a clutch (of eggs/chicks), or a flock (general group), each word fits a specific context in chicken life.
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What is a group of cobras called?
A quiver
A quiver of cobras, they share communal dens, and king cobras even build nests, the only snakes known to construct them.
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What is a group of cockroaches called?
An intrusion
An intrusion of cockroaches, they communicate via pheromones and gather in crowds of thousands in moist, dark refuges.
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What is a group of cormorants called?
A gulp
A gulp of cormorants, they swallow fish whole underwater and surface to dry their non-waterproof wings, wings outstretched.
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What is a group of cranes called?
A sedge
A sedge of cranes, from "siege" (patient posture). Cranes perform spectacular courtship dances, bowing and leaping in pairs.
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What is a group of dolphins called?
A pod
A pod of dolphins, tightly bonded family units that hunt cooperatively. Each pod develops distinct "dialects" of whistles.
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What is a group of ferrets called?
A business
A business of ferrets, descended from domesticated polecats, they hunt rabbits cooperatively in underground tunnels.
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What is a group of hawks called?
Both (depends on context)
A cast of hawks when hunting, a kettle when migrating high on thermals. Thousands can funnel through a single mountain pass.
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What is a group of hares called?
All valid
A husk, drove, or down of hares, "down" reflects their soft fur, "husk" their preferred field cover.
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What is a group of nightingales called?
A watch
A watch of nightingales, they famously sing through the night, so "watch" refers to overnight sentinels.
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What is a group of doves called?
A pitying
A pitying of doves, from their mournful cooing call. Mourning doves can coo for up to a minute at a time during courtship.