====== A collective of nouns, (alternatives in brackets) ====== from: http://users.tinyonline.co.uk/gswithenbank/collnoun.htm (amongst other sources) ===== Birds ===== * A colony of auks (flock, raft) * A colony of avocets * A flock of birds (dissimulation, fleet, flight, parcel, pod, volary, ) * A sedge of bitterns (siege) * A chain of bobolinks * A bellowing of bullfinches * A flock of bustards * A wake of buzzards * A tok of capercaillies * A muse of capons * A brood of chickens (cletch, clutch, peep) * A chattering of choughs (clattering) * A covert of coots ( commotion, cover, fleet, flock, pod, rasp, swarm) * A flight of cormorants (gulp) * A sedge of cranes (herd, sedge, siege) * A murder of crows ( hover, muster, parcel) * A head of curlews (herd) * A trip of dotterel * A dole of doves ( dule, flight, piteousness, pitying, prettying) * A flush of ducks (badelynge, brace, bunch, dopping, flock, paddling, plump, raft, skein, sord, string, team) * A flight of dunbirds (rush) * A fling of dunlins * A convocation of eagles (aerie) * A cast of falcons * A charm of finches (chirm, trembling, trimming) * A stand of flamingos * A gaggle of geese (flock, plump, skein, team, wedge) * A charm of goldfinches (chattering, drum, troubling) * A dopping of goosanders * A flight of goshawks * A covey of grouse (brace, brood, flight, pack) * A bazaar of guillemots * A colony of gulls * A mews of hawks (aerie, cast, kettle, mew, moulting, screw, stream) * A brood of hens * A sedge of herons (flight, hedge, rookery, siege) * A charm of hummingbirds (chattering, drum, troubling) * A colony of ibises * A band of jays (party, scold) * A desert of lapwings (deceit) * A parcel of linnets * An exaltation of larks (ascension, bevy, flight) * A congregation of magpies (charm, flock, gulp, murder, tiding, tittering, tribe, ) * A sord of mallards (flush, puddling, sute) * A plump of moorhens * A fleet of mudhens * A watch of nightingales (match, pray) * A pride of ostriches (flock) * A parliament of owls (stare) * A fling of oxbirds * A company of parrots (flock, pandemonium, psittacosis) * A covey of partridges (bevy, bew, clutch, warren) * A muster of peacocks (ostentation, pride) * A pod of pelicans (scoop) * A colony of penguins (parcel, rookery) * A cadge of peregrines * A nye of pheasants (bouquet, head, nide, warren, ) * A flight of pigeons (flock, kit, passel, ) * A knob of pintail [small number] * A congregation of plovers (band, flight, leash, stand, wing) * A rush of pochard (flight, knob[small number]) * A run of poultry * A covey of ptarmigans * A bevy of quail (covey, drift) * An unkindness of ravens (aerie, conspiracy) * A crowd of redwings * A parliament of rooks (building, clamour, congregation, shoal, wing) * A hill of ruffs * A fling of sandpipers * A cloud of seafowl * A squabble of seagulls * A dopping of sheldrakes (doading) * A walk of snipe (wisp) * A host of sparrows (meinie, quarrel, tribe, ubiquity) * A murmuration of starlings (chattering, cloud, congregation, clutter) * A mustering of storks (flight, phalanx) * A flight of swallows (gulp) * A herd of swans (bank, bevy, drift, eyrar, game, herd, lamentation, sownder, squadron, team, wedge, whiteness, whiting) * A flock of swifts * A spring of teals (bunch, coil, knob, raft) * A mutation of thrushes * A flock of turkeys (dole, dule, raffle, raft, rafter, posse) * A pitying of turtledoves * A wake of vultures * A plump of waterfowl (bunch, knob, raft) * A company of widgeon (bunch, coil, flight, knob, trip) * A trip of wildfowl (bunch, knob, lute, plump,scry, skein, sord) * A fall of woodcock (covey, flight, plump) * A descent of woodpeckers * A herd of wrens (flock) ===== Mammals ===== * A cluster of antelopes (herd, tribe) * A shrewdness of apes (troop) * A pace of asses (drove, coffle, herd) * A flange of baboons (congress, troop) * A cete of badgers (colony) * A cloud of bats (colony) * A sloth of bears (sleuth) * A colony of beavers (family, lodge) * A herd of bison (gang) * A sute of bloodhounds * A herd of boars (singular) * A sounder of boars, wild [12+] * A herd of bucks * A gang of buffalo (herd, obstinacy) * A drove of bullocks * A flock of camels (caravan, herd, train) * A herd of caribou * A clowder of cats (glaring, cluster, clutter) * A destruction of cats, wild (dout, dowt) * A herd of cattle (drift, drove, mob) * A herd of chamois * A coalition of cheetahs * A colony of chinchilla * A rake of colts (rack, rag) * A bury of conies (game) * A flink of cows [12+] * A pack of coyote (band, rout) * A litter of cubs * A cowardice of curs * A herd of deer (bunch, leash, mob, parcel, rangale) * A pack of dogs (kennel) * A pod of dolphins * A herd of donkeys (drove) * A herd of eland * A herd of elephants (parade) * A gang of elk (herd) * A business of ferrets (cast, fesnying) * A skulk of foxes (earth, lead, leash, troop) * A brace of geldings * A horde of gerbils * A tower of giraffes (corps, group, herd) * A herd of gnu (implausibility) * A trip of goats (flock, herd, trip, tribe) * A band of gorillas (whoop) * A leash of greyhounds * A group of guinea pigs * A horde of hamsters * A drove of hares (down, flick, herd, husk, kindle, leash, trace, trip) * A herd of harts * A herd of hartebeest * A array of hedgehogs (prickle) * A parcel of hinds * A bloat of hippopotami (crash, herd, pod, school, thunder) * A drift of hogs (drove, parcel) * A stable of horses (harras, herd, remuda, string, stud, team) * A pack of hounds (cry, hunt, kennel, meet, mute, stable, sute) * A clan of hyenas * A herd of ibex * A couple of impalas * A husk of jackrabbits * A mob of kangaroos (troop) * A kindle of kittens (litter) * A fall of lambs * A leap of leopards (lepe) * A kindle of leverets * A pride of lions (flock, sault, sowse, troop) * A herd of llamas * A stud of mares * A richness of martens (richesse) * A nest of mice (trip) * A labour of moles (company, movement) * A band of mongooses (pack) * A troop of monkeys (cartload, mission, tribe, troop, wilderness) * A herd of moose * A nest of mice (horde, mischief) * A barren of mules (pack, rake, span) * A family of otters (bevy, raft, romp) * A team of oxen (drove, herd, meinie, span, yoke) * A pomp of pekingese * A drove of pigs (flock, herd) * A sounder of pigs, wild * A farrow of piglets (litter) * An aurora of polar bears (pack) * A chine of polecats * A string of ponies * A school of porpoises (herd, pod) * A coterie of prarie dogs (town) * A litter of pups * A gaze of raccoons (nursery) * A colony of rabbits (bury, drove, flick, kindle, leash, nest, trace, warren, wrack) * A field of racehorses (string) * A nursery of racoons * A colony of rats (horde, mischief, swarm) * A crash of rhinoceroses (herd, stubbornness) * A bevy of roe deer * A colony of seals (harem, herd, pod, rookery, spring) * A flock of sheep (down, drift, drove, fold, herd, meinie, mob, parcel, trip) * A surfeit of skunks * A dray of squirrels (colony) * A pack of stoats (trip) * A drove of swine (herd) * A doylt of swine, tame (drift, trip) * A sounder of swine, wild [12+] * An ambush of tigers (streak) * A blessing of unicorns * A colony of voles * A huddle of walruses (herd, ugly) * A mob of wallaby * A sneak of weasels (gang, pack) * A school of whales (float, gam, herd, mob, pod, run, shoal, troup) * A grind of whales, bottle-nosed * A destruction of wildcats (dout) * A herd of wildebeest * A pack of wolves (herd, rout) * A mob of wombats * A herd of yaks * A cohort of zebras (herd, zeal) ===== Invertebrates ===== * A culture of bacteria * A stuck of jellyfish (fluther, smack) * A clew of worms ==== Molluscs ==== * A bed of clams * A bed of cockles * A bed of mussels * A bed of oysters (hive) * An escargatoire of snails (rout, walk) ===== Insects and Arachnids ===== * A colony of ants (army, bike, swarm) * A swarm of bees (bike, cast, cluster, drift, erst, game, grist, hive, rabble, stand) * A bike of bees, wild * A flight of butterflies (kaleidoscope, rabble, swarm) * An army of caterpillars * An intrusion of cockroaches * A swarm of flies (business, cloud, grist, hatch) * A cloud of gnats (horde, rabble, swarm) * A cloud of grasshoppers (cluster, swarm) A bike of hornets (nest, swarm) * A flight of insects (horde, plague, rabble, swarm) * A flock of lice * A plague of locusts (cloud, swarm) * A colony of lice (infestation) * A scourge of mosquitos (swarm) * A clutter of spiders (cluster) * A colony of termites (swarm) * A colony of wasps (bike, nest) ===== Fish ===== * A company of angel fish * A company of archer fish * A battery of baracuda * A shoal of barbels * A fleet of bass (shoal) * A grind of blackfish * A school of butterfly fish * A school of cod * A swarm of dragonet fish * A troop of dogfish * A pod of dolphins (school, team) * A swarm of eels * A shoal of fish (catch, draught, fray, haul, run, school) * A glide of flying fish * A glint of goldfish (troubling) * A glean of herrings (army, shoal) * A shoal of mackerel * A shoal of minnows (steam, stream, swarm) * A pack of perch * A shoal of pilchards (school) * A cluster of porcupine fish * A gam of porpoises (herd, pod, school, turmoil) * A party of rainbow fish * A shoal of roach * A bind of salmon (draught, leap, run, school, shoal) * A family of sardines * A herd of seahorses * A shoal of shad * A shiver of sharks (school, shoal) * A troup of shrimps * A quantity of smelt * A shoal of sticklebacks (spread) * A flotilla of swordfish * A hover of trout (shoal) * A float of tunas (troup) * A pod of whiting ===== Amphibians and Reptiles ===== * A quiver of cobras * A bask of crocodiles (congregation, float, nest) * A herd of dinosaurs (pack) * A flight of dragons (weyr, wing) * An army of frogs (colony, froggery, knot) * A mess of iguanas * A rhumba of rattlesnakes * A den of snakes (bed, knot, nest, pit, trogle) * A knot of toads (knob, nest) * A bale of turtles (dule, turn) * A nest of vipers (generation) ===== People ===== * A faculty of academics * A troupe of acrobats * A cast of actors/players (company, cry) * A conflagration of arsonists * A troupe of artistes * A team of athletes * A tabernacle of bakers * A babble of barbers * A promise of barmen * A thought of barons * A bevy of beauties * A bench of bishops (psalter) * A blush of boys * A feast of brewers * A shuffle of bureaucrats * A goring of butchers * A sneer of butlers * A slate of candidates * A chapter of canons (dignity) * A congregation of churchgoers * A school of clerks * A cutting of cobblers (drunkship) * A hastiness of cooks * A cowardice of curs * A troupe of dancers * A decanter of deans (decorum) * An obstruction of dons * A board of directors * A staff of employees * A panel of experts * A stalk of foresters * A talent of gamblers * A galaxy of governesses * A conjunction of grammarians * A herd of harlots * A melody of harpists * An observance of hermits * A gang of hoodlums * A cavalcade of horsemen * A blast of hunters * A bench of judges (sentence) * A neverthriving of jugglers * A banner of knights (rout) * A bevy of ladies * An eloquence of lawyers * A colony of lepers * An audience of listeners * An illusion of magicians * A riches of matrons * A band of men * A faith of merchants * A diligence of messengers * A cortege of mourners * An orchestra of musicians * A tribe of natives * A superfluity of nuns * A crowd of onlookers * A curse of painters (illusion, misbelieving) * A malapertness of pedlars * A crowd of people * A troupe of performers (troup) * A skirl of pipers (poverty) * A converting of preachers * A pity of prisoners * A band of robbers * A crew of sailors * A scolding of seamstresses * A house of senators * A subtlety of sergeants at law * An obeisance of servants * A posse of sheriffs * A blackening of shoemakers * A choir of singers * A squad of soldiers (army, brigade, company, division, platoon, troop) * A class of students * A disguising of tailors * A glozing of taverners * A den of thieves * A flock of tourists * An unction of undertakers * A prudence of vicars * An ambush of widows * A coven of witches * A gaggle of women * A congregation of worshippers * A worship of writers * A fellowship of yeomen ===== Miscellaneous ===== * A wing of aircraft * A host of angels (chorus) * A quiver of arrows * A belt of asteroids * A bunch of bananas (hand) * A grove of bayonets * A carillon of bells (change, peal) * A library of books * A batch of bread * A bavin of brushwood * A fleet of cars * A pack of cards (deck, hand) * A network of computers * A dossier of documents * A clutch of eggs * A bed of flowers (bouquet, patch) * A colony of fungi * A pantheon of gods * A bunch of grapes (cluster) * A chain of islands (archipelago) * A cache of jewels * A ring of keys * A fleet of lorries (convoy) * A rouleau of coins * A collective of nouns * A bank of monitors * A range of mountains * A troop of mushrooms * A coterie of orchids * A string of pearls * A phantasmagoria of phantoms * An anthology of poems * A clump of reeds * A fleet of ships (armada, flotilla) * A pair of shoes * A flight of stairs * A galaxy of stars (constellation) * An agenda of tasks * A stand of trees (clump, forest, grove) ===== Some That Might Be ===== * A balance of accountants * A corps of anatomists * A conflagration of arsonists * An audit of bookkeepers * A rascal of boys * A clutch of breasts * A clutch of car mechanics * A load of cobblers * An unease of compromises * A galaxy of cosmologists * An intrigue of council members * An incredulity of cuckolds * A brace of dentists * A bodge of DIYers * A grid of electricians * An exaggeration of fishermen * A revelation of flashers * A fraid of ghosts * A giggle of girls * An expectation of heirs * A vagary of impediments * A wealth of information * A scoop of journalists * A flush of lavatories * An eloquence of lawyers * A stack of librarians * A babble of linguists * A number of mathematicians * A compromise of mediators * A number of mathematicians * An amalgamation of metallurgists * A shower of meteorologists * An expectation of midwives * A horde of misers * An annoyance of neighbours * A row of oarsmen * A body of pathologists * A virtue of patients * A ponder of philosophers * A clique of photographers * A nucleus of physicists * A breakdown of plans * A flush of plumbers * A complex of psychologists * A following of stalkers * A portfolio of stockbrokers * A fanfare of strumpets * A pack of suitcases * A flight of yesterdays * A jam of tarts * A hug of teddy bears * A bunch of things * A promise of tomorrows * A twinkling of todays * A cancellation of trains * A linkage of webmasters * An impatience of wives * A yearning of yesterdays * An optimism of youths