Have you ever tried to describe a group of birds but couldn’t find a more original term that simply “a flock”? Yup, it’s the same tired, old vocabulary used by everyone else. Well, there’s hope for those of you who want to stand out from the crowd; here’s a list of specific names (known as nouns of assemblage) for groups of different birds.
Memorize these terms and in no time, you’ll be able to impress your friends, amaze your family and confuse small children.
Aerie of hawks
Band of jays
Bazaar of guillemots
Bevy of larks
Bevy of quail
Bevy of swans (when in flight)
Boil of hawks (when in flight)
Bouquet of pheasants
Brace of grouse
Brace of pheasants (when dead)
Brood of chicks
Building of Rooks
Bunch of ducks (when on water)
Bunch of waterfowl
Cast of falcons
Cast of hawks
Chain of Bobolinks
Charm of finches
Charm of hummingbirds
Cluster of Knots
Colony of gulls
Colony of vultures
Company of parrots
Squadron of pelicans
Company of widgeon
Concentration of kingfishers
Congregation of plovers
Constable of Ravens
Convocation of eagles
Covert of coots
Covey of grouse
Covey of partridge
Covey of ptarmigan
Deceit of Lapwings
Descent of woodpeckers
Desert of Lapwings
Dissimulation of birds
Dole of doves
Drift of quail
Dropping of ducks (when on water)
Exhaltation of larks
Fall of Woodcock
Flamboyance of Flamingos
Flight of cormorants
Flight of doves
Flight of Goshawks
Flight of swallows
Fling of Dunlins
Flock of birds
Flock of birdwatchers
Flush of Mallards
Gaggle of geese (when on ground)
Gathering of birdwatchers
Gulp of Cormorants
Herd of cranes
Herd of Curlews
Herd of wrens
Horde of crows
Host of sparrows
Huddle of penguins
Jubilee of eagles
Kettle of hawks
Kit of pigeons (when in flight)
Knob of waterfowl
Murder of crows
Murmuration of Starlings
Muster of Peacocks
Muster of turkeys
Mustering of storks
Mutation of thrushes
Nye of pheasants
Ostentation of Peacocks
Pack of grouse
Paddling of ducks (when on water)
Parliament of owls
Parliament of Rooks
Peep of chickens
Chattering of Choughs
Pitiousness of doves
Pitying of turtledoves
Plump of waterfowl
Plump of wildfowl
Quarrel of sparrows
Raft of coots
Raft of ducks (when on water)
Raft of loons
Rafter of turkeys
Richness of Purple Martins
Rookery of penguins
Scold of jays
Sedge of Bitterns
Siege of Bitterns
Siege of cranes
Siege of herons
Skein of geese (when in flight)
Sord of Mallards
Spring of teals
Stand of flamingos
Strand of Silky Flycatchers
Sute of Mallards
Team of ducks (when in flight)
Team of geese (when in flight)
Tiding of magpies
Tittering of magpies
Trembling of finches
Trip of Widgeon
Trip of wildfowl
Trouble of hummingbirds
Unkindness of Ravens
Volery of birds
Walk of snipe
Watch of nightingales
Wdge of swans (when in flight)
Wedge of geese (when in flight)
Whisper of snipe
Whiteness of swans (when in flight)
Wing of plovers
Wisdom of owls