
Ever see that group of birds and have to just say flock? The word flock covers all birds but there are set names for many bird groups. I’ll list a bunch of them here for you (and me). By the way the official term for a bunch of birdwatchers is a flock.

Hawks fly in an Aerie, Jays in a Band, Guillemots (genus of narrow-billed auks of northern seas) in a Bazaar, Larks/Quail and Swans (in flight) in a Bevy, Hawks (in flight) fly in a Boil, Pheasants in a Bouquet and Grouse in a Brace.

Chicks in a Brood, Rooks in a Building, Ducks are a Bunch on the water which is also used for various waterfowl, Falcons and Hawks can be in a Cast, Bobolinks (American migratory songbird with the breeding male chiefly black) in a Chain.

Finches and Hummingbirds fly in a Charm, Knots (dumpy, short-legged, stocky wading bird) in a Cluster, Gulls and Vultures in a Colony, Parrots and Widgeon (Old World duck having a large white patch on each wing with the male having a reddish-brown head and buff crown) in a Company.

Kingfishers in a Concentration, Plovers (shorebirds that differ from the sandpipers in having a short hard-tipped bill and usually a stouter more compact build) in a Congregation, Ravens in a Constable or Unkindness.

Eagles in a Convocation, Coots in a Convert or Raft, Grouse, Partridge and Ptarmigan (various grouses of northern regions with completely feathered feet) in a Covey, Lapwings (crested Old World plover noted for its slow irregular flapping flight and shrill wailing cry) in a Deceit or Desert.

Woodpeckers in a Descent, Doves in a Dole or Pitiousness, Quail in a Drift, Ducks (on the water) in a Dropping or Raft, Woodcock in a Fall, Flamingos in a Flamboyance or Stand, Swallows in a Flight.

Dunlins (a small widely distributed sandpiper that in breeding plumage is largely cinnamon to rusty brown above and white below with a large black patch on the belly) in a Fling.

Mallards in a Flush or Sord or Sute, Geese (on the ground) in a Gaggle, Cormorants (any of various dark-colored web-footed waterbirds that have a long neck, hooked bill, and distensible throat pouch) in a Gulp, Cranes, Wrens and Curlews in a Herd.

Crows in a Horde or Murder, Sparrows in a Host or Quarrel, Penguins in a Huddle, Eagles in a Jubilee, Hawks in a Kettle, Pigeons (in flight) in a Kit, Starlings in a Murmuration, Turkeys in a Muster of Rafter, Storks in a Mustering, Thrushes in a Mutation.

Pheasants in a Nye, Peacocks in a Ostentation, Grouse in a Pack, Owls and Rooks in a Parliament, Choughs (related to the crows and have red legs and glossy blue-black plumage) in a Chattering, Turtledoves in a Pittering, Loons in a Raft.

Purple Martins in a Richness, Penguins in a Rookery, Jays in a Scold, Bitterns (small or medium-sized, short-necked, usually secretive herons) in a Sedge or Siedge, Herons and Cranes in a Siege, Geese (in flight) in a Skein, Teals in a Spring.

Silky Flycatchers in a Strand, Ducks and Geese (flying) in a Team, Magpies in a Tiding or Tittering, Finches in a Trembling, Widgeons in a Trip, Hummingbirds in a Trouble, Snipe in a Walk or Whisper, Nightingales in a Watch.

Swans (in flight) in a Wedge or Whiteness, Geese (flying) in a Wedge, Plovers (shorebirds that differ from the sandpipers in having a short hard-tipped bill and usually a stouter more compact build) in a Wing, Owls in a Wisdom.

Birds in general can also fly in a Volery, Waterfowl (swimming game birds) can be in a Trip or Plump or Knob. Birds in general can be in a Dissimulation (birds attempting to bamboozle a predator or hunter by seeming to fly together as a single unit).
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