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Group Names for Birds: A
Partial List
By Terry Ross tross@mail.bcpl.lib.md.us
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A bevy of quail
A bouquet of pheasants [when flushed]
A brood of hens
A building of rooks
A cast of hawks [or falcons]
A charm of finches
A colony of penguins
A company of parrots
A congregation of plovers
A cover of coots
A covey of partridges [or grouse or ptarmigans]
A deceit of lapwings
A descent of woodpeckers
A dissimulation of birds
A dole of doves
An exaltation of larks
A fall of woodcocks
A flight of swallows [or doves, goshawks, or cormorants]
A gaggle of geese [wild or domesticated]
A host of sparrows
A kettle of hawks [riding a thermal]
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A murmuration of starlings
A murder of crows
A muster of storksA nye of pheasants [on the ground]
An ostentation of peacocks
A paddling of ducks [on the water]
A parliament of owls
A party of jays
A peep of chickens
A pitying of turtledoves
A raft of ducks
A rafter of turkeys
A siege of herons
A skein of geese [in flight]
A sord of mallards
A spring of teal
A tidings of magpies
A trip of dotterel
An unkindness of ravens
A watch of nightingales
A wedge of swans [or geese, flying in a "V"]
A wisp of snipe
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Any of these group names may properly be used by birders who wish to
display their erudition,
although it is probably linguistically inaccurate (and it certainly is bad
manners) to upbraid someone who refers to "a bunch of ravens" by
saying, "Surely you mean `an unkindness of ravens,' my good
fellow." Most of these terms date back at least 500 years. Some of
them have been in continuous use since then; others have gone out of fashion
and been resurrected in the last century or two; still others only exist on
lists.
Most of these terms are listed in James Lipton's An Exaltation of
Larks. Lipton's list is substantially based on very old sources.
There were manuscript lists of group names in the 15th century, and these
lists appeared in some of the first books printed in England.
Many of them make their first appearance in John Lydgate's Debate between the
Horse, Goose, and Sheep (1440); and Lydgate's terms along with others appear
in The Book of Hawking and Hunting (also known as The Book of St. Albans) by
Dame Juliana Barnes (1486). Whether Lydgate and Barnes coined any of
these terms, or whether they were setting down the terms that were considered
proper in their day is not known. Many of the terms did catch on, and
the lists they appeared on were frequently reprinted.
The best source I know for investigating the histories of English words is
the Oxford English Dictionary. Unfortunately, on the question whether
these terms ever were or still are appropriate, the OED is not entirely
helpful. To make sense of the matter, I have placed the group names
into groups--
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GROUP A--The following group names are standard:
· A bevy
of quail
· A
bouquet of pheasants
· A brood
of hens
· A cast
of hawks
· A charm
of finches
· A covey
of partridges
· A flight
of swallows
· A gaggle
of geese
· A nye of
pheasants
· A siege
of herons
· A skein
of geese
· A trip
of dotterel
· A wisp
of snipe
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GROUP B-- These terms are not group names for a
particular type of bird, but have been commonly used for many different
types:
- Colony
- Company
- Flock
- Parliament
- Party
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GROUP C-- These terms are archaic; they were once
obsolete, but they have
been revived somewhat in the 19th or 20th centuries:
· A
building of rooks
· A
murmuration of starlings
· A muster
of peacocks
· A peep
of chickens
· A sord
of mallards
· A spring
of teal
· A watch
of nightingales
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GROUP D-- These terms are obsolete; they appeared on
the old lists, but
almost nobody has used them in centuries:
· A
congregation of plovers
· A dissimulation
of birds
· A
dole of doves
· A fall
of woodcock
· A host
of sparrows
· A
paddling of ducks
· An
unkindness of ravens
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GROUP E-- These terms are not in the OED at all as
group names for birds:
· A cover
of coots
· A kettle
of hawks
· A
murder of crows
· An
ostentation of peacocks
· A
pitying of turtledoves
· A rafter
of turkeys
· A
tidings of magpies
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My categories are imprecise, but they provide some guidance about
usage. Have no qualms about using any of the terms in group A; use the
terms in group B for any group of birds that seems apt; use the terms in
groups C and D only if you don't mind being thought pedantic or literary;
avoid the terms in group E unless you know something the OED doesn't.
Alas, the OED itself is not totally reliable: the word "kettle"
(as both a noun and a verb) has been used by hawk watchers for many years,
and it has often appeared in print; the OED editors obviously are not
birders. It may well be that the other terms in group E appear on the
15th-century lists and were simply missed.
Thanks to the following for their suggestions and contributions: Bruce
Helmboldt, Stephan L. Moss, Pete Janzen, Macklin Smith, Billie Jo Johnstone,
Richard Danca, Gail Mackiernan, Alice Rasa.
Review the correspondence on this
matter from BirdChat.
View a list of whimsical group names
submitted by chatters.
Visit the Baltimore Bird Club Home Page.
If you're interested in group names for creatures other than birds, here
are links to such lists:
The Fairfax
County (Virginia) Library's Group Names
David Featherston's Collective Nouns: A
(re-)collection. by
Mark Hesenflow's Collective terms -
Animals
Melissa Kaplan's list of Collective
Nouns
Send comments or suggestions to me at tross@mail.bcpl.lib.md.us
The Webmaster is grateful to Mr. Terry Ross and his efforts. See poem.
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