Names of Groups of Insects and Animals
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Animal and Insect Group Names
Group Names for Animals and Insects
Nothing is more fascinating than discovering the unique name for a group of animals, amphibians, or insects. These unique words that are used to describe a group of animals are called "collective nouns," and they date back to Medieval times. Discover interesting terms for words like a pandemonium of parrots or a charm of magpies. The variations to these collective nouns will entertain you!
You really never know when this knowledge may come in handy—think trivia night and beyond. Or, you may simple want to wow your biology class or use one of these terms for a description in your latest novel. Happy learning!
- Albatross: a rookery
- Alligators: a congregation
- Apes: a shrewdness or a troop
- Ants: a colony, a swarm, a nest
- Baboons: a troop, a flange
- Bacteria: a colony
- Badgers: a cete, a set, a company
- Bats: a camp, a colony, a cloud
- Bears: a sleuth, a sloth
- Bear cubs: a litter
- Bees: a swarm, a hive, a grist
- Birds: a flock (ground), a wreck (sea)
- Bloodhounds: a sute
- Buffalo: a gang, a troop, or an obstinacy
- Butterflies: a flight, a flutter
- Buzzards: a wake
- Camels: a caravan, a train
- Catterpillars: an army
A cloud of bats.
- Cats: a clowder, a glaring, a nuisance, a clutter
- Kittens: a litter or a kindle
- Wildcats: a destruction
- Chickens: a brood or a peep
- Chinchillas: a colony
- Clams: a bed
- Cobras: a quiver
- Cockroaches: an intrusion
- Cormorants: a gulp
- Crocodiles: a bask
- Coyotes: a band
- Crows: a murder, a hoard, a parcel
- Deer (buck): a brace, a clash
- Dogs: a kennel
- Puppies: a litter
- Dogs: a pack, a cry (hounds), a mute (hounds)
- Dolphins: a pod
- Donkeys: a drove
- Doves: a dole, a paddling
- Eagles: a convocation, an aerie
- Eels: a swarm, a fry
- Elephants: a parade, a memory
- Elk: a gang or a herd
A parade of elephants.
- Falcons: a cast
- Ferrets: a business, a cast
- Fish: a school, a shoal
- Flamingoes: a stand, a flamboyance
- Flies: a business, a swarm, a cloud
- Frogs: an army, a colony
- Fox: a charm, a leash, a troop
- Geese: a gaggle, a flock
- Giraffes: a tower
- Gnats: a swarm, a cloud
- Gorillas: a band, a troop
- Grasshoppers: a cloud
- Greyhounds: a leash
- Guinea fowl: a confusion
- Hawks: a kettle (flight), a boil (spiraling)
- Hippopotamuses: a bloat
- Hornets: a nest, a bike
Animal Group Names
A tower of giraffes.
- Horses: a team, a stable, a rag (colts), a string (ponies), a herd
- Hummingbirds: a charm
- Hyenas: a cackle
- Insects: a nest, a swarm, a plague
- Jaguars: a shadow
- Jellyfish: a smack, a brood
- Kangaroos: a troop or a mob
- Lemurs: a conspiracy
- Leopards: a leap
- Lions: a pride, a troop
- Locusts: a plague
- Magpies: a tiding, a charm, a murder
- Mice: a mischief
- Moles: a labor, a movement
- Monkeys: a barrel or a troop
A smack of jellyfish.
- Moose: a herd
- Mosquitoes: a scourge
- Mules: a pack, a rake, a span
- Otters: a bevy, a raft, a family, a barren
- Oxen: a team or a yoke
- Owls: a parliament, a stare
- Oysters: a bed
- Parrots: a pendemonium
- Peacocks: a pride, a muster
- Pelicans: a pod
- Pigeons: a flight, a flock
- Pigs: a drift or a drove or a sounder (boars)
- Porcupines: a prickle
- Porpoises: a herd, a pod, a shoal
- Quail: a bevy
- Rabbits: a colony, a warren, a herd (domestic), a litter (young)
- Raccoons: a gaze, a plague
- Rats: a colony, a pack, a swarm
- Rattlesnakes: a rhumba
- Ravens: an unkindness, a storytelling
- Reindeer: a herd
- Rhinoceroses: a crash
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A bevy of otters.
- Salamanders: a congress
- Salmon: a run
- Scorpions: a bed, a nest
- Sharks: a shiver, a school
- Sheep: a pack, a flock, a trip
- Snails: a escargatoire, a walk
- Skunk: a stench
- Spiders: a cluster
- Squirrels: a dray, a scurry
- Stingrays: a fever
- Swans: a bevy, a gam, a wedge
- Tigers: an ambush or a streak
- Tigers: a streak, an ambush
- Toads: a knot
- Trout: a hover
- Turkeys: a gang or a rafter
- Turtles: a bale or a nest
- Vultures: a venue, a kettle (circling)
- Weasels: a colony or a gang, or a pack
- Whales: a pod a school or a gam
- Wolves: a pack, a route (in movement)
- Worms: a bed, a bunch
- Zebras: a zeal, a crossing, a dazzle, a herd
A gang of turkeys.
This content is accurate and true to the best of the author’s knowledge and is not meant to substitute for formal and individualized advice from a qualified professional.
© 2019 Laynie H
Comments
Laynie H (author) from Bend, Oregon on February 13, 2020:
Hi Mika, those are beautiful group names.
Mika on February 07, 2020:
Also! Butterflies can be group of Kaleidscope.
And moths are eclipse.
Laynie H (author) from Bend, Oregon on May 23, 2019:
I definitely had trivia night in mind! thanks for the read
Liz Westwood from UK on May 23, 2019:
This is the kind of resource anyone entering a quiz contest would find useful.
