Skip to main content

Unusual Collective Nouns for Animals

Submitted by admin on 25 February 2020

You are probably familiar with phrases like “a hive of bees”, “a pride of lions” but ever heard of a "kaleidoscope of butterflies"? You can also say a "swarm of butterflies" but kaleidoscope is such a cool word. Below is a list of not so common collective nouns for animals.

A walk of snails – never mind that snails do not walk.
A destruction of cats
A scourge of mosquitoes. Swarm is also used for mosquitoes.
A parliament of owls
A memory of elephants
A school of dolphins
A bale of turtles
A barrel of monkeys. You can also say carload, troop, or tribe
A shiver of sharks
A blessing of unicorns
A generation of vipers
A stubbornness of rhinoceroses or a crash of rhinoceroses 
A prickle of porcupines
An unkindness of ravens
A harem of seals
A charm of hummingbirds
A business of ferrets
A rout of wolves
A flamboyance of flamingos
A cloud of bats

The easiest way to remember new words is to incorporate them in everyday use. Which of these will you be adding to your speech this week?