List of English terms of venery, by Animal - wikipedia List of English terms of venery, by Animal This is the latest accepted revision, reviewed on 27 October 2017. A skein of geese This is a list of English terms of venery ( venery being an archaic word for hunting ), comprising terms from a tradition that arose in the Late Middle Ages, at least partly from the Book of Saint Albans of 1486, a historic list of `` Company Terms ''. The present list also includes more common collective terms ( such as `` herd '' and `` flock '' ) for some animals. Contents J O Q U V X Y Z See also References Standard terms for particular groups are listed first in each group and shown in bold. This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by expanding it with reliably sourced entries. Subject Collective noun Notes Sources A ! antelopes herd ants army colony nest swarm apes shrewdness troop asses herd drove driven in a group pace or passe B ! baboons troop badgers cete bats colony bears sleuth or sloth beavers colony family bees swarm drift erst grist birds flock flight pod bitterns sedge or sege boars sounder 12 or more buffalo herd bullfinches bellowing bullocks drove driven in a group butterflies swarm flutter kaleidoscope C ! capercaillie tok capons mews caribou herd cats clowder pounce destruction feral cats cattle mob driven in a group chickens clutch cheetahs coalition males only choughs chattering or clattering colts rag rake cormorants gulp coots covert coyotes pack cranes herd sedge or sege crocodiles bask crows murder or horde curlews herd D ! deer herd parcel dogs pack dolphins pod dotterel trip doves dole or dule fanciful flight ducks badling or badelynge paddling on water plump raft on water dunlins fling E ! eagles convocation eels bed elephants herd elk gang herd F ! falcons cast ferrets business corruption over time of ' busyness ' busyness besyness fesynes fesnyng feamyng ghost words arising from successive misspellings of `` busyness '' finches charm or chirm fish school shoal flamingoes stand flamboyance colony regiment flies business foxes leash skulk frogs army G ! geese flock on land gaggle on land skein in flight giraffes herd tower gnats cloud horde goats flock trip goldfinches charm gorillas band goshawks flight grasshoppers cloud grouse covey guineafowl rasp H ! hawks boil two or more spiralling in flight cast kettle flying in large numbers lease hens brood herons sedge or sege siege hippopotamuses bloat hogs parcel See also boars, pigs, swine hornets nest horses team in harness haras or harrase herd string stud hounds pack hyenas cackle I ! ibex herd insects swarm J J ! jackdaws clattering train jays party scold jellyfish fluther smack K ! kangaroos mob troop kittens kindle litter L ! lapwings deceit or desert larks bevy exaltation leopards leap or lepe lions pride sawt locusts plague M ! mackerel shoal magpies charm gulp murder tiding mallards sord suit or sute mares stud martens richesse or richness mice nest minnows shoal moles labor or labour monkeys barrel troop wilderness moose herd mules barren span N ! nightingales watch O O ! owls parliament oxen drove team yoke oysters bed P ! parrots company pandemonium partridges covey peacocks muster ostentation pride pelicans pod penguins colony convent pheasants bouquet head nest nide nye pigs drift See also boars, hogs, swine drove pigeons kit flying together plovers congregation stand wing Q Q ! quail bevy covey drift R ! rabbits colony nest herd domestic only litter young rabbits only raccoons gaze rats mischief ravens unkindness rhinoceroses crash rooks building parliament S ! seals pod sea urchins herd sheep flock drove when driven in a group herd hurtle pack sheldrake dopping snakes bed den knot nest pit snipes walk whisp or wisp sparrows host spiders cluster or clutter squirrels dray scurry starlings chattering murmuration storks mustering swallows flight swans bank on the ground bevy flight game herd wedge in flight swifts flock scream swine drift T ! teal spring tigers ambush streak toads knot nest trout hover turkeys gang rafter turtles bale dole or dule nest turtle doves dole or dule pitying V V ! vipers nest vultures kettle in flight committee while resting wake when feeding W ! walruses herd pod waterfowl bunch knob fewer than 30 ( fanciful ) raft weasels colony pack whales gam herd mob pod wigeons company trip wildfowl bunch knob fewer than 30 ( fanciful ) plump trip wolves pack rout or route when in movement wombats wisdom woodcocks fall woodpeckers descent wrens herd Z Z ! zebras herd dazzle zeal Contents Top J O Q U V X Y Z See also References See also List of animal names References ^ Jump up to : Pepper, Elizabeth ( 2003 ). Witches all ( Revised, Illustrated ed. ). Tiverton, Rhode Island : Witches ' Almanac Limited. p. 41. ISBN 978 - 1 - 881098 - 26 - 3. ^ Jump up to : `` San Diego Zoo ''. archived copy of Animal group names. Zoological Society of San Diego. Archived from the original on July 4, 2013. Retrieved 2014 - 04 - 22. ^ Jump up to : `` Common Questions : What Do You Call a Group of... ? ''. archived copy of Animal Congregations, or What Do You Call a Group of... ?. U.S. Geological Survey Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center. Archived from the original on March 20, 2015. Retrieved 2015 - 04 - 13. ^ Jump up to : Berners, Dame Juliana ( 1881 ) ( 1486 ). The Boke of Saint Albans. Introduction by William Blades. London : Elliot Stock. Retrieved 2011 - 05 - 27. ^ Jump up to : `` What do you call a group of... ? ''. Oxford Dictionaries. Retrieved 2016 - 10 - 22. ^ Jump up to : Schott, Ben ( 2002 ). Schott 's Original Miscellany. London : Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 11. ISBN 0 - 7475 - 6320 - 9. ^ Jump up to : `` Sege '' -- via The Free Dictionary. ^ Jump up to : Strutt, Joseph ( 1801 ). The Sports and Pastimes of the People of England. London : J. White. p. 28. Jump up ^ `` Butterflies and Moths of North America -- collecting and sharing data about Lepidoptera ''. butterfliesandmoths.org. Jump up ^ `` Monarch Butterfly : Danaus plexippus ''. National Geographic. Jump up ^ `` What do you call a group of butterflies ? ''. reference.com. Jump up ^ `` BTO BirdFacts -- Capercaillie ''. bto.org. ^ Jump up to : Faulkner, Mark ; Lima Filho, Eduardo ; Logan, Harriet ; Mina, Miraphora ( 2013 ). A Compendium of Collective Nouns : From an Armory of Aardvarks to a Zeal of Zebras. Text by Jay Sacher. San Francisco : Chronicle Books. p. 37. ASIN B00CUSQNWO. ISBN 978 - 1 - 4521 - 2952 - 5. LCCN 2013 - 10190. OCLC 854853170. Jump up ^ `` destruction '' -- via The Free Dictionary. Jump up ^ mob. ( n.d. ). Dictionary.com Unabridged. Retrieved November 30, 2015 from Dictionary.com website http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/mob Jump up ^ `` What is a group of cheetahs called ? ''. Reference. Retrieved 2017 - 10 - 26. ^ Jump up to : `` chattering '' -- via The Free Dictionary. Jump up ^ `` clattering '' -- via The Free Dictionary. Jump up ^ Scrope, William ( 1883 ). Days of deer - stalking in the Scottish Highlands. London : Hamilton, Adams & Co. p. 83. He pressed forward rapidly, still out of sight of both parcels of deer Jump up ^ `` Battle to save NY pod of dolphins ''. BBC News. 17 January 2007. Retrieved 8 May 2010. Jump up ^ A Pod of Dolphins -- NASA Mars Collection Jump up ^ `` BTO BirdFacts -- Dotterel ''. bto.org. Jump up ^ `` plump : meaning and definitions ''. infoplease.com. Jump up ^ Plump ( 4 ) - Definition and More from the Free Merriam - Webster Dictionary Jump up ^ `` cast ''. Oxford English Dictionary ( 2nd ed. ). Oxford University Press. 1989. Jump up ^ Borgmann, Dmitri A. ( 1967 ). Beyond Language : Adventures in Word and Thought. New York : Charles Scribner 's Sons. pp. 79 -- 80, 146, 251 -- 254. OCLC 655067975. ^ Jump up to : `` Animal Groups ''. About.com. Retrieved 2016 - 02 - 02. Jump up ^ Lynn - Allen, Lieut. - Colonel B.G. ( 1951 ). Shot - gun and Sunlight -- The Game Birds of East Africa. London : Batchworth Press. Jump up ^ Avery Craven ( 1957 ). The coming of the Civil War. University of Chicago Press. p. 30. ISBN 0 - 226 - 11894 - 0. Jump up ^ Schoultz, Lars ( 1998 ). Beneath the United States. Harvard University Press. p. 1. ISBN 0 - 674 - 92276 - X. They are lazy, dirty, nasty, and in short I can compare them to nothing but a parcel of hogs. ( John Quincy Adams, age 12 ) ^ Jump up to : Skull, Amanda. `` Bird Watch -- Jackdaw '' ( PDF ). Bird Watch. British Trust for Ornithology. Retrieved 7 May 2013. Jump up ^ White, Gilbert ( 1833 ). The Natural History of Selborne. London, United Kingdom : N. Hailes. p. 163. Jump up ^ `` BTO BirdFacts -- Lapwing ''. bto.org. Jump up ^ Shakespeare, Merchant of Venice, Act III, Scene i Jump up ^ `` ABC Creature Features - Rats ''. ABC. Jump up ^ `` Balancing Act : Otters, Urchins and Kelp ''. Retrieved 2014 - 06 - 25. Jump up ^ `` Blue Planet : The Deep ''. Jump up ^ `` Dopping '' -- via The Free Dictionary. Jump up ^ `` BTO BirdFacts -- Swift ''. bto.org. ^ Jump up to : Galván, Javier ( 2014 ). They Do What ? A Cultural Encyclopedia of Extraordinary and Exotic Customs from around the World. Santa Barbara, California : ABC - CLIO. p. 289. ISBN 1610693426. ^ Jump up to : Ellery, Sue ( November 11, 2012 ). Gallimaufry. Lulu.com. p. 29. ISBN 978 - 1 - 291 - 15774 - 1. Jump up ^ `` Animal Encounters -- Nat Geo Wild ''. Jump up ^ van der Post, Laurens ( 1958 ). The Lost World of the Kalahari. Harcourt Brace & Company. p. 196. Further reading Hodgkin, John ( 1909 ). Proper Terms : An Attempt at Rational Explanation of the Meanings of the Collection of Phrases in `` The Book of St. Albans, '' 1486, Entitled `` Companys of Beestys and Fowlys, '' and Similar Lists '. Supplement to the Transactions of the Philological Society, 1907 -- 1910. Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_English_terms_of_venery,_by_animal&oldid=807432163 '' Categories : Lists of English words Vocabulary History of hunting Hidden categories : Dynamic lists All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from October 2017 Talk About Wikipedia Add links This page was last edited on 27 October 2017, at 22 : 34. About Wikipedia

Question: what do you call a group of eels
Answer: bed