Names for Groups of Animals and Insects

Author:: Layne Holmes

Layne is an active freelance writer. She enjoys staying up to date on trends, media, and emerging topics.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Animal Group Names

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.