Animal Group Terminology

Updated July 27, 2023 | Infoplease Staff
A zeal of zebras
Source: Getty Images

You might be familiar with some groups of animals and their collective nouns, such as a herd of horses or a gaggle of geese. These are fairly common terms that many people associate with a particular gathering of animal species.

Some animal group terminology is obscure, unexpected, or incredibly specific. For example, a group of Indonesian mountain weasels is called a boogle!

Additionally, some animal names can be easily confused – did you know that a flock of ravens is not called a murder, but an unkindness of ravens? It’s actually a murder of crows.

So, do you know what to call a group of rhinos or jellyfish? Read on for a list of animal group names from a shrewdness of apes to a flamboyance of flamingos!

Species Name Animal Group Name
Classification: Mammals
Aardvarks Armory
Antelopes Herd, Cluster, or Tribe
Apes Shrewdness or Troop
Armadillos Roll
Baboons Flange or Troop
Badgers Cete
Bats Colony
Bears Sleuth or Sloth
Beavers Colony
Boars Singular
Buffalo Gang, Obstinacy, or Herd
Camels Caravan
Cats Clowder, Cluster, Glaring, or Pounce; Litter or Kindle (for kittens); Destruction (for wild cats)
Cattle Drove or Herd
Cheetahs Coalition
Deer Herd or Bevy
Dogs Pack, Mute, or Kennel; Litter (for puppies)
Donkeys (or Asses) Pace or Drove
Dugong Herd
Elephants Parade or Herd
Elk Gang or Herd
Emus Mob
Ferrets Business
Fox Leash, Skulk, or Earth
Giant Panda Sleuth
Giraffes Tower
Goats Tribe or Trip
Gorillas Band
Hares Husk or Down
Hippopotamuses Bloat or Thunder
Hogs Passel or Team
Horses Team, Harras, or String; Rag (for colts); Stud (for a breeding group)
Hyenas Cackle
Indonesian Mountain Weasels Boggle
Jaguars Leap, Prowl, or Parade
Kangaroos Troop or Mob
Lemurs Conspiracy
Leopards Leap
Lions Pride
Manatees Aggregation
Martens Richness
Mice Horde or Mischief
Moles Labor
Monkeys Troop or Barrel
Mules Pack, Span, or Barren
Otters Romp or Raft
Oxen Team or Yoke
Pigs Drift, Drove, or Team
Porcupines Prickle
Porpoises Pod, Shoal, or School
Rabbits Colony, Warren, or Nest
Raccoons Smack, Gaze, or Nursery
Rats Mischief
Rhinoceroses Crash or Stubbornness
Seals Bob, Pod, or Harem
Sheep Drove, Flock, or Herd
Skunks Surfeit or Stench
Squirrels Dray or Scurry
Swine Sounder
Tigers Streak or Ambush
Weasels Gang or Sneak
Whales Pod, Gam, or Herd
Wolves Pack or Rout
Wombats Wisdom
Zebras Herd, Dazzle, or Zeal
Species Name Animal Group Name
Classification: Birds
Birds in General Flight, Flock, Volary, or Brace
Birds in a Breeding Colony Rookery
Bitterns Sedge
Blackbirds Grind
Bobolinks Chain
Budgerigars Chatter
Bullfinches Bellowing
Buzzards Wake
Bobolinks Chain
Chickens Brood or Peep
Chicks (Of Many Species) Brood or Clutch
Coots Cover
Cormorants Gulp or Flight
Cranes Sedge
Crows Murder or Horde
Dotterel Trip
Doves Dole/Dule, Bevy, Piteousness, or Pitying
Ducks Raft, Bunch, or Paddling (when on water); Flock, Flush, Badling, Badelynge, Safe, or Team (when in flight)
Eagles Convocation
Falcons Cast
Finches Charm
Flamingos Stand or Flamboyance
Geese Flock, Gaggle, or Skein
Grouse Pack
Gulls Colony
Hawks Cast, Kettle, or Boil
Herons Sedge or Siege
Jackdaws Clattering or Train
Jays Party or Scold
Lapwings Deceit
Larks Exaltation or Ascension
Mallards Sord or Brace
Magpies Tiding, Gulp, Murder, or Charm
Nightingales Watch
Owls Parliament
Parrots Company or Pandemonium
Partridge Covey
Peacocks Muster or Ostentation
Penguins Colony
Pheasant Nest, Nide, Brood, Nye, or Bouquet
Pigeons Flock, Litter, Kit, or Loft
Plovers Congregation or Wing
Ptarmigans Covey
Quail Bevy or Covey
Ravens Unkindness
Robins Round
Rooks Building, Clamor, or Parliament
Seagulls Flock, Colony, Squabble, Flotilla, Scavenging, or Gullery
Snipe Walk or Wisp
Sparrows Host
Starlings Murmuration
Storks Mustering
Swallows Flight
Swans Bevy or Wedge
Teal Spring
Turkeys Rafter or Gang
Vultures Committee
Widgeons Company
Woodcocks Fall
Woodpeckers Descent
Species Name Animal Group Name
Classification: Reptiles and Amphibians
Alligators Congregation
Cobras Quiver
Crocodiles Bask
Frogs Army
Lizards Lounge
Rattlesnakes Rhumba
Toads Knot
Tortoises Creep
Turtles Bale or Nest
Snakes Vipers’ Nest, Snakes’ Den, Ball, or Slither
Classification: Fish
Fish in General Draft, Nest, School, or Shoal
Bass Shoal
Dogfish Troop
Eels Bed or Swarm
Goldfish Troubling
Herring Army
Koi Glint
Sharks Shiver
Stingrays Fever
Trout Hover
Classification: Invertibrates
Ants Colony
Bees Grist, Hive, or Swarm
Butterflies Kaleidoscope, Flight, Flutter, or Rabble
Caterpillars Army
Clams Bed
Cockroaches Intrusion
Flies Business
Gnats Cloud or Horde
Grasshoppers Cloud
Hornets Nest
Jellyfish Smack
Lobsters Risk
Locusts Plague or Cloud
Octopuses Consortium
Oysters Bed
Scorpions Bed or Nest
Snails Escargatoire, Walk, or Rout
Spiders Clutter or Cluster
Squids Shoal
Wasps Pledge

Gaggles and Murders and Swarms, Oh My!

From mammals to fish, birds to invertebrates, these are some of the most interesting animal names. Which one surprised you the most?

If you have an idea for an unlisted animal group name, like a constellation of star-nosed moles or a flatulence of flounders, why not drop us a line and let us know? There are plenty of animal group names out there, but the most obscure creatures might still need collective nouns!

Next up, check out the Can You Name These Baby Animals quiz or test your Endangered Animals knowledge.

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