I was hiking with a group in Western Massachusetts a while back, and we saw a group of wild turkeys. Was it a flock? A covey? A troop? Have you ever gotten baffled by the plurality of something? Vernacular for groups of animals was much more commonplace with 15th through 17th century English speakers than it is today. Thanks to author and literary researcher, James Lipton, these terms are shared in his book, “An Exaltation of Larks”.

Mr. Lipton’s purpose was to re-introduce the poetic and descriptive terms taught in old English books of courtesy. These texts taught young noblemen proper terms for the hunt. A nobleman could not hold his head up proudly if he didn’t know that a group of foxes was a “skulk” and an assemblage of pheasants was a “nye”.

It must have been entertaining to come up with these descriptors. You’ll find that many are quite expressive of the animals portrayed, for instance a leap of leopards or a paddling of ducks. Others seem to come off the top of the head when looking at an assemblage, such as a knot of toads. Still others convey an obvious opinion by the one who bestowed the name, such as an unkindness of ravens or a destruction of wildcats. Though some may sound tongue-in-cheek now, such as a mute of hounds, in actuality, “meute” in Old French meant pack, as in a pack of dogs.

Many of these terms have long slipped out of our everyday (or every-year) language. Some still linger. Rest assured, they were once written, published, spoken, and correctly used when the English language was more extravagant. So, here are a number of odd, descriptive, and just plain amusing names for groups of various animals. Have fun with them.

Birds:
A convocation of eagles
A cast of hawks
A host of sparrows
An ostentation of peacocks
An unkindness of ravens
A murmuration of starlings
A paddling of ducks
A gaggle of geese on the water
A skein of geese in flight
A descent of woodpeckers
A charm of finches
A party of jays
A colony of penguins
A company of parrots
A parliament of owls
A murder of crows
An exaltation of larks

Other animals:
A barrel of monkeys
A nest of vipers
A string of ponies
A swarm of bees
A crash of rhinoceroses
A mob (or troop) of kangaroos
A kindle of kittens
A clutter of cats
A kennel of dogs
A knot of toads

Oh, and by the way, it’s a rafter of turkeys.