Collective nouns are nouns which are used to refer to a group of animals, people, things, etc. You might probably know that the term herd is used to refer to a group of cows. Similarly, a swarm is a collective noun for a group of bees. Learn more about such collective nouns that are used to denote groups of different animals in this article.
Collective Nouns for Animals
Antelope: a herd | Flamingos: a stand or flamboyance | Owls: a parliament |
Ants: a colony or an army | Flies: a swarm, hatch or business | Oxen: a team or yoke(two oxen) |
Apes: a shrewdness | Foxes: a skulk or leash | Oysters: a bed |
Baboons: a troop | Frogs: an army or a colony | Parrots: a pandemonium or company |
Badgers: a cete | Geese: a gaggle or flock, a skein when in flight | Partridges: a covey |
Bass: a shoal | Giraffes: a tower | Peacocks: a muster or ostentation |
Bats: a colony, cloud or cauldron | Gnats: a cloud or horde | Penguins: a colony |
Bears: a sloth or sleuth; Cubs: a litter | Goats: a herd, tribe or trip | Pheasants: a nest, nide or bouquet |
Beavers: a colony | Goldfinches: a charm | Pigeons: a flock or flights |
Bees: a swarm | Goldfish: a troubling | Pigs: a drift or drove (younger pigs), or a sounder, litter or team (older pigs) |
Boars: a sounder | Gorillas: a band | Ponies: a string |
Buffaloes: a gang or obstinacy | Grasshoppers: a cloud | Porcupines: a prickle |
Camels: a caravan | Greyhounds: a leach | Rabbits: a colony or warren |
Caterpillars: an army | Hares: a down or husk | Raccoons: a gaze |
Cats: a clowder, glaring, pounce, nuisance or clutter; Kittens: a litter or kindle; Wild cats: a destruction | Hawks: a cast or kettle | Rats: a colony, pack or swarm |
Cattle: a herd or drove | Hippopotami: a bloat or thunder | Rattlesnakes: a rhumba |
Cheetahs: a coalition | Hogs: a drift or parcel | Ravens: an unkindness |
Chickens: a brood or peep; Chicks: a clutch or chattering | Horses: a team or harras | Rhinoceroses: a crash |
Clams: a bed | Hounds: a pack, mute or cry | Sharks: a shiver |
Cobras: a quiver | Hyenas: a cackle | Sheep: a drove or flock |
Colts: a rag | Jaguars: a shadow | Skunks: a stench |
Cows: a kine, drove, herd or fold; twelve or more cows are a flink | Jellyfish: a smack or brood | Snakes: a nest or knot |
Coyotes: a band | Kangaroos: a troop or mob | Sparrows: a host |
Cranes: a sedge | Larks: an ascension or exaltation | Squirrels: a dray or scurry |
Crocodiles: a float or bask | Lemurs: a conspiracy | Starlings: a murmuration |
Crows: a murder | Leopards: a leap | Stingrays: a fever |
Deer: a herd | Lice: a flock | Storks: a mustering |
Dogs: a pack or cowardice; Puppies: a litter | Lions: a pride | Swans: a bevy or lamentation, a wedge when in flight |
Dolphins: a pod | Locusts: a plague or cloud | Tigers: an ambush or a streak |
Donkeys: a drove | Magpies: a tiding or tittering | Toads: a knot or knab |
Doves: a dule | Mallards: a sord | Trouts: a hover |
Ducks: a brace, paddling or team | Manatees: an aggregation | Turkeys: a gang, posse or rafter |
Eagles: a convocation | Mares: a stud | Turtles: a bale or nest |
Elephants: a herd or parade | Martens: a richness | Vultures: a venue |
Elk: a gang or herd | Minnows: a steam | Wasps: a pledge |
Emus: a mob | Moles: a labour | Weasels: a colony, gang or pack |
Falcons: a cast | Monkeys: a barrel, cartload or troop | Whales: a pod, school or gam |
Ferrets: a business or fesnyng | Mules: a pack, barren or span | Wolves: a pack or route |
Finches: a charm | Nightingales: a watch | Wombats: a wisdom |
Fish: a school, shoal, run, haul or catch | Otters: a family, romp or raft | Woodpeckers: a descent |
Zebras: a zeal |
Frequently Asked Questions on Collective Nouns for Animals
Q1
How do you refer to a group of hyenas?
The collective noun used to refer to a group of hyenas is cackle.
Q2
What are the various collective nouns for animals?
The various collective nouns for animals are troop, cackle, pack, rhumba, stench, murmuration, etc.
Q3
What is a group of monkeys called?
A group of monkeys can be referred to as a troop or a barrel.