Animal Group Terminology

Updated February 11, 2017 | Infoplease Staff

Source: U.S. Geological Survey Department of the Interior/USGS

Classification	Species Name	Group Name
Mammals	apes	shrewdness
	asses	pace
	badgers	cete
	bats	colony
	bears	sleuth, sloth
	buffalo	gang, obstinancy, herd
	cats	clowder, pounce
	cattle	drove, herd
	deer	herd, bevy
	dogs	pack, mute, kennel
	elephants	herd
	elk	gang
	ferrets	business
	fox	leash, skulk, earth
	giraffes	tower
	goats	tribe, trip
	gorillas	band
	hippopotamuses	bloat
	horses	team, harras, stud, rag, string
	hyenas	cackle
	kangaroos	troop
	leopards	leap
	lions	pride
	martens	richness
	moles	labor
	monkeys	troop, barrel
	mules	pack, span, barren
	otters	romp
	oxen	team, yoke
	pigs	drift, drove, team
	porcupines	prickle
	rabbits	colony, warren, nest
	rhinoceroses	crash
	seals	pod, herd
	sheep	drove, flock, herd
	squirrels	dray, scurry
	tigers	streak
	whales	pod, gam, herd
	wolves	pack, rout
Birds	birds in general	flight, flock, volary, brace
	bitterns	sedge
	buzzards	wake
	bobolinks	chain
	chicks (of many species)	brood, clutch
	coots	cover
	cormorants	gulp
	cranes	sedge
	crows	murder, horde
	dotterel	trip
	doves	dule
	eagles	convocation
	finches	charm
	flamingos	stand
	geese	flock, gaggle, skein
	grouse	pack
	gulls	colony
	hawks	cast, kettle, boil
	herons	sedge, siege
	jays	party, scold
	lapwings	deceit
	larks	exaltation
	mallards	sord, brace
	magpies	tiding, gulp, murder, charm
	nightingales	watch
	owls	parliament
	parrots	company
	partridge	covey
	peacocks	muster, ostentation
	penguins	colony
	pheasant	nest, nide, brood, nye, bouquet
	plovers	congregation, wing
	ptarmigans	covey
	rooks	building
	quail	bevy, covey
	ravens	unkindness
	snipe	walk, wisp
	sparrows	host
	starlings	murmuration
	storks	mustering
	swallows	flight
	swans	bevy, wedge
	teal	spring
	turkeys	rafter, gang
	widgeons	company
	woodcocks	fall
	woodpeckers	descent
Reptiles and Amphibians	crocodiles	bask
	frogs	army
	toads	knot
	turtles	bale, nest
	snakes, vipers	nest
Fish	fish in general	draft, nest, school, shoal
	bass	shoal
	herring	army
	sharks	shiver
	trout	hover
Invertebrates	ants	colony
	bees	grist, hive, swarm
	caterpillars	army
	clams	bed
	cockroaches	intrusion
	flies	business
	gnats	cloud, horde
	grasshoppers	cloud
	hornets	nest
	jellyfish	smack
	locusts	plague
	oysters	bed