| C E N T E R F O R T H E I N T E G R A T I V E S T U D Y O F A N I M A L B E H A V I O R |
| Lots of people use specialized language to describe animals and animal behavior (writers, farmers, research scientists, and others). Here are some terms that describe groupings of the same type of animal, and immature animals. |
| terms for groups of animals . terms for immature animals |
| T E R M S f o r G R O U P S of A N I M A L S |
What do you call a bunch of the same kind of animal? You could say that there was a group of them, a lot of them, or you could use the specific term that means "a group of" for the particular kind of animal you are talking about. The list below is a partial listing of such special terms -- learn a few new words and impress your friends and family! |
| T E R M for G R O U P | A N I M A L | T E R M for G R O U P | A N I M A L | |
| bale | of turtles | knot | of toads | |
| band | of gorillas | leap | of leopards | |
| bed |
of clams of oysters |
leash |
of greyhounds of foxes |
|
| bevy |
of quail of swans |
litter | of pigs | |
| brace | of ducks | mob | of kangaroos | |
| brood / clutch | of chickens | murder | of crows | |
| cast | of hawks | muster | of peacocks | |
| cete | of badgers | mute | of hounds | |
| charm | of goldfinches | nest | of vipers | |
| cloud | of gnats | nest / nide | of pheasants | |
| clutter / clowder | of cats | pack |
of dogs of wolves |
|
| colony | of ants | pair |
of 2 draft animals (horses, mules, oxen) |
|
| congregation | of plovers | pod |
of whales of seals |
|
| covey |
of quail of partridge |
pride | of lions | |
| crash | of rhinoceri | school | of fish | |
| down | of hares | sedge / siege | of cranes | |
| drift | of swine | skulk | of foxes | |
| drove |
of cattle of sheep |
sleuth | of bears | |
| exaltation | of larks | sounder | of boars | |
| flight | of wild birds | span |
of 2 draft animals (mules, horses, oxen) |
|
| flock |
of birds of goats of sheep |
swarm | of bees | |
| gaggle | of geese | team |
of 2-8 draft animals (horses, mules, oxen) |
|
| gam / pod | of whales | tribe / trip | of goats | |
| herd |
of elephants of cattle |
troop |
of kangaroos of monkeys |
|
| kindle |
of rabbits of kittens |
yoke | of 2 draft animals: oxen |
| T E R M S f o r I M M A T U R E A N I M A L S |
What do you call an animal baby? For each animal there is a specific word for what you would call its non-adults. Some have more than one name referring to different ages. Humans, for example, have several words for an infant (baby, neonate) and a juvenile (child, kid, adolesent, teen-ager). Below are specific terms for the young of other species. |
| T E R M for Y O U N G | A N I M A L | T E R M for Y O U N G | A N I M A L | |
| bunny | rabbit | fry | fish | |
| calf |
cattle, elephant, antelope, rhino, hippo, whale, et al. |
gosling | goose | |
| cheeper | grouse, quail, partridge | heifer | cow | |
| chick | chicken, fowl | joey | kangaroo | |
| cockerel | rooster | kid | goat | |
| codling / sprag | codfish | kit | fox, beaver, rabbit | |
| colt | male horse | kitten | cat | |
| cub |
lion, bear, fox, shark, et al. |
lamb | sheep | |
| cygnet | swan | leveret | hare | |
| duckling | duck | nestling | bird | |
| eaglet | eagle | owlet | owl | |
| elver | eel | parr / smolt | salmon | |
| fawn | deer |
piglet / shoat suckling |
pig | |
| filly | female horse | polliwog / tadpole | frog | |
| fingerling | fish | poult | turkey | |
| fledgling | bird | pullet | young hen | |
| foal | horse, zebra, et al. | pup | dog, seal, sea lion, fox | |
| squab | pigeon |
| Educational resource by M.K. Holder, Ph.D. |
| terms for groups of animals . terms for immature animals |
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