Bird Group Names

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).