Animal Group Names You’ve Probably Never Heard

A trivia question asks what a group of owls is called, and suddenly the whole room gets weirdly confident. Somebody says “flock,” somebody says “crew,” and one person quietly says “parliament” like they have been waiting their whole life for that exact moment.

That is the fun of animal pack names. Some are straightforward, like a pack of wolves or a herd of deer. Others sound so dramatic they feel invented, like a murder of crows or a business of ferrets. If you want a big, useful list of animal group names for school, trivia, writing, or pure curiosity, this is the kind of list worth keeping.

Common mammal group names

• A pack of wolves
• A pride of lions
• A herd of elephants
• A herd of deer
• A herd of zebras
• A herd of goats
• A troop of monkeys
• A troop of baboons
• A colony of bats
• A business of ferrets
• A tower of giraffes
• A crash of rhinos
• A bloat of hippos
• A sleuth of bears
• A leash of foxes
• A skulk of foxes
• A sounder of pigs
• A clan of hyenas
• A cackle of hyenas
• A pod of dolphins
• A pod of whales
• A gang of elk
• A mob of kangaroos
• A caravan of camels
• A pace of donkeys

Bird group names

• A flock of birds
• A gaggle of geese
• A skein of geese
• A parliament of owls
• A murder of crows
• A wake of vultures
• A convocation of eagles
• A flamboyance of flamingos
• A colony of penguins
• A raft of ducks
• A brace of ducks
• A brood of hens
• A peep of chicks
• A stand of flamingos
• A charm of finches
• An exaltation of larks
• A siege of herons
• A colony of gulls
• A company of parrots
• A murmuration of starlings
• A kettle of hawks
• A cast of hawks
• An unkindness of ravens
• A descent of woodpeckers
• A host of sparrows

Fish, reptiles, and sea animal group names

• A school of fish
• A shoal of fish
• A shiver of sharks
• A bask of crocodiles
• A float of crocodiles
• A bale of turtles
• A nest of snakes
• A quiver of cobras
• A knot of toads
• An army of frogs
• A smack of jellyfish
• A cloud of jellyfish
• A fever of stingrays
• A gam of whales
• A drift of seahorses
• A colony of eels
• A bed of oysters
• A cast of crabs
• A consortium of octopuses
• A romp of otters

Farm and household animal group names

• A herd of cows
• A flock of sheep
• A pack of dogs
• A clowder of cats
• A glaring of cats
• A litter of puppies
• A litter of kittens
• A drove of cattle
• A team of oxen
• A brood of chickens
• A peep of chickens
• A string of ponies
• A stud of horses
• A team of horses
• A flock of turkeys
• A rafter of turkeys
• A herd of llamas
• A herd of alpacas
• A down of rabbits
• A colony of rabbits

Insects and smaller creatures

• A swarm of bees
• A hive of bees
• A colony of ants
• An army of caterpillars
• A plague of locusts
• A cloud of grasshoppers
• A kaleidoscope of butterflies
• A flutter of butterflies
• A cluster of spiders
• An intrusion of cockroaches

These names are useful, yes, but they are also weird, vivid, and just theatrical enough to make English feel less boring. And once you know a few good ones, it is hard not to start collecting more.