I wrote about some turkeys the other day on Beholding God. And I wondered, “What do you call a bunch of turkeys anyway?”
And then I stumbled on some way cool words to describe them. And other birds.
For instance, here are some of my favorites. In no particular order.
A rafter/posse/gang of turkeys.
A pandemonium/prattle of parrots.
A pitying of turtledoves.
A flock of ducks (flight).
A badling/brace of ducks (ground).
A raft/team/paddlling of ducks (water).
An ostentation/muster/pride of peacocks.
A lamentation/ballet of swans.
A host of sparrows.
An ascension/exaltation of larks.
A clutter/murmuration of starlings.
A conspiracy of ravens.
A descent/gatling of woodpeckers.
A dissimulation/flock of ground birds.
A volary/brace/plump/knob of game birds.
A wreck of sea birds.
A chattering/clutch of chickens.
A mustering of storks.
A mutation/hermitage of thrushes.
A party/scold of jays.
A dole of doves.
A dropping of pigeons!
A gaggle of geese.
A sedge of cranes.
A squabble of seagulls.
A stand/flamboyance of flamingoes.
A wake of buzzards.
A watch of nightingales.
A wisdom/parliament of owls.
A colony/cloud of bats
A convocation/aerie of eagles.
A cast of hawks (general).
A kettle of hawks (flying).
A boil of hawks (spiraling).
A tiding/gulp/murder/charm of magpies.
A pod of pelicans.
A bouquet of pheasants (takeoff).
A congregation of plovers.
A venue of vultures.
There are some colorful animal groups, too. Next time.
Copyright © 2010 by Sandra Heska King
Wild Turkeys are really funny. We used to watch mothers with a dozen chicks eat their way through our yard every morning. One time, they all lined up on our eight foot fence and waited for me and my cat to leave before coming down into the garden for breakfast!
Oh, what fun! This is the first year I've really paid attention to what's going on in the back field. I keep a pair of binoculars on my office windowsill. 🙂
Hi Sandra –
I've never heard of most of these. The only one that struck a chord: a gaggle of geese.
Thanks for enlarging my bird vocabulary.
Blessings,
Susan 🙂
Fun! I didn't know a lot of these. Thanks for sharing:)
@Susan and @Karen: I thought it was fun. Pulling a list together on animals now. 🙂