collective nouns for birds

Collective Nouns for Birds 🦉

List of Collective Nouns for Birds🦉Baby & Gender Names + Plurals

ADDucation’s list of collective nouns for birds also includes the individual baby names, males and females and plural for each bird species. Did you know the first list of collective nouns was published in The Book of St Albans circa 1500 and it wasn’t definitive – it was based on folklore, humor and the whim of the publisher and it’s the same today.

  • This list of collective nouns for birds was compiled by Joe Connor, last updated 22 Feb 2021.
Frequently Asked Questions About Birds & Group Names for Birds 🦅

FAQ About Birds & Groups of Birds

Are penguins birds or mammals?

Birds have feathers, lightweight hollow bones and lay eggs - so penguins are birds not mammals.

How many species of birds are there?

There are currently around ten thousand bird species in the world today, give or take a few hundred.

ADDucation Tips: Click column headings with arrows to sort collective nouns for birds. Reload page for original sort order. Resize your browser to full screen and/or zoom out to display as many columns as possible. Reload page for original sort order. Resize your browser to full screen and/or zoom out to display as many columns as possible. Click the ➕ icon to reveal any hidden columns. Start typing in the Filter table box to find specific bird terms inside the table of collective nouns for birds and poultry.

Birds Offspring called? Collective Nouns for Birds Male Female Bird plurals
Generic Bird 🐦 fledgling, nestling, hatchling, chick. A flock of birds, a flight of birds (in the air). cock hen Birds
Cedar Waxwing chick
  • a flock of cedar waxwings
  • an ear-full of cedar waxwings
  • a museum of cedar waxwings.
 cock hen Cedar waxwings
Chicken 🐔 chick, pullet (young hen), cockerel (young rooster).
  • A brood of chickens
  • a flock of chickens
  • a peep of chickens
  • a chattering of chicks.
 rooster hen Chickens
Crane, Sandhill crane
 fledgling, nestling, hatchling, chick.
  • A sege or sedge of cranes
  • a siege of cranes
  • a herd of cranes
  • a dance of cranes (in mating season)
  • a construction of cranes
  • a swoop of cranes (flying).
 roan? mare? Cranes
Coot Chick A covert of coots, a cover of coots. cock hen Coots
Crow fledgling, nestling, hatchling, chick. A muster of crows, a murder of crows. cock hen Crows
Cuckoo chick
  • An incredulity of cuckolds (baby cuckoos)
  • an asylum of cuckoos
  • a cooch of cuckoos.
 male female Cuckoos
Dove 🕊 squab, chick.
  • A bevy of doves
  • a dule of doves
  • a dole of doves
  • a flight of doves
  • a piteousness of doves.
 cock hen Doves
Duck🦆 duckling
  • A badling of ducks
  • a raft of ducks
  • a flush of ducks
  • a paddling or team of ducks.
 drake duck Ducks
Mallard / Duck duckling A sord of mallards. drake duck Mallard or Mallards.
Eagle 🦅 eaglet, fledgling.
  • A convocation of eagles
  • a congress of eagles
  • an aerie of eagles.
 tiercel hen Eagles
Emu chick, hatchling. A mob of emus. cock hen Emus
Finch chick
  • A charm of finches
  • a cast of finches
  • a trembling of finches
  • a trimming of finches.
 cock hen Finches
Flamingo chick A flamboyance of flamingos, a stand of flamingoes. male female Flamingos or flamingoes.
Goose gosling
  • A flock of geese
  • a gaggle of geese (walking)
  • a skein of geese
  • a plump of geese on water
  • a wedge of geese in flight.
 gander goose Geese
Grouse Chick A covey of grouse, a pack of grouse. cock hen Grouse or grouses
Hawk eyas A cast or kettle of hawks, aerie of hawks. tiercel hen Hawks
Heron chick A sedge, scattering or siege of herons. cock hen Herons
Lark chick An ascension or exultation of larks. cock hen Larks
Magpie chick
  • A tiding of magpies
  • a gulp of magpies
  • a mischief of magpies
  • a conventicle of magpies
  • a tittering of magpies.
 cock hen Magpies
Nightingale chick A watch of nightingales. cock hen Nightingales
Owl🦉 owlet, fledgling.
  • A parliament of owls
  • a wisdom of owls
  • a stare of owls
  • a study of owls.
 male female Owls
Parrot 🦜 chick
  • A company of parrots
  • a prattle of parrots
  • a pandemonium of parrots.
 cock hen Parrots
Partridge cheeper A covey of partridges. cock chantelle, hen Partridge or partridges
Peafowl fledgling, nestling, hatchling, chick. A muster, pride or ostentation of peafowl. peacock peahen Peafowl
Pelican chick, toddler.
  • A pod of pelicans
  • a pouch of pelicans
  • a scoop of pelicans
  • a squadron of pelicans flying.
 cock hen Pelicans
Penguin chick
  • A colony of penguins, one of the best-known collective nouns for birds
  • a rookery of penguins
  • a parcel or huddle of penguins.

A group of penguins in water is called a raft of penguins. 20 January is Penguin Awareness Day #PenguinAwarenessDay.

 male female Penguins
Pheasant chick
  • A nide of pheasants
  • a head of pheasants
  • a bouquet of pheasants
  • a brood is a family of pheasants
  • a nye is a large group of pheasants.
 cock hen Pheasant or pheasants
Pigeon squab, squeaker. A flock, kit or flight of pigeons. cock hen Pigeons
Plover fledgling, nestling, hatchling, chick. A wing or congregation of plovers. Plovers
Quail fledgling, nestling, hatchling, chick. A covey, drift or bevy of quail. cock hen Quail or quails
Raven fledgling, nestling, hatchling, chick.
  • An unkindness of ravens
  • a conspiracy of ravens.
 cock hen Ravens
Rook chick
  • A building of rooks
  • a clamor of rooks
  • a parliament of rooks.
 Rooks
Sandpiper hatchling, chick.
  • A fling of sandpipers
  • a bind of sandpipers
  • a hill of sandpipers
  • a cluster of sandpipers
  • a contradiction of sandpipers.
 cock ree Sandpipers
Snipe Chick A walk of snipe, a wisp of snipes. cock hen Snipe or snipes
Sparrow fledgling, nestling, hatchling, chick.
  • A host of sparrows
  • a meinie of sparrows
  • a quarrel of sparrows
  • an ubiquity of sparrows
  • a tribe of sparrows.
 cock hen Sparrows
Starling fledgling, nestling, hatchling, chick. A murmuration of starlings, a cloud of starlings. Starlings
Stork fledgling, nestling, hatchling, chick. A mustering of storks, a phalanx of storks (when migrating). Storks
Swan 🦢 cygnet, flapper.
  • A bevy of swans
  • a drift of swans
  • a herd, eyrar, game, sownder, team, whiteness of swans
  • a lamentation or wedge of swans, when flying in V formation
  • a bank of swans on the ground.
 cob pen Swans
Swift fledgling, nestling, hatchling, chick. A flock of swifts. Swifts
Turkey 🦃 chick, poult. A raffle or rafter of turkeys, a gang of turkeys. tom or gobbler (adult male),jake (juvenile male. hen or jenny Turkeys
Turtle dove hatchling, chick. A pitying or dole/dule of turtle doves. Turtle Doves
Vulture
 chick A committee, volt or venue of vultures (on the ground), a kettle of vultures (when circling) and a wake of vultures (when feeding together). Includes Turkey Vultures often called “Buzzards” in the USA. cock hen Vultures
Woodcock chick A fall of woodcocks. cock hen Woodcocks
Woodpecker chick A descent of woodpeckers. male female Woodpeckers
See also: ▶️ Group names for Insects | ▶️ Group terms for animals | 🔀 Names for groups of people…

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8 responses to “Collective Nouns for Birds 🦉”

  1. C.H. (no relation to Christine Humphrey) says:
    February 8, 2021 at 7:43 pm

    A herd of cranes, watch of nightingales, covert of coots, wisp of snipe, covey of grouse…

    Reply
  2. Angie says:
    November 25, 2020 at 9:11 pm

    Any for cedar waxwings? I heard they sometimes eat until they can fly no more. Or they will keep passing a berry from waxwing to waxwing until one finally swallows it. Cute. How about a “gorge,” “stuff,” or “sharing” of waxwings, if no other term exists? This list is a delight to read.

    Reply
    • Joe Connor says:
      November 30, 2020 at 10:23 am

      Hi Angie, much to our surprise there are a couple of collective nouns for cedar waxwings: A museum or ear-full of cedar waxwings. Thanks to your comment we’ve added a new entry, it makes us happy you enjoyed the list.

      Reply
  3. Marguerite Rolland says:
    August 2, 2020 at 9:18 pm

    But what about turkey vultures?

    Reply
    • Joe Connor says:
      August 22, 2020 at 1:19 pm

      Thanks Marguerite, we’ve now added turkey vultures, which includes turkey vultures, turkey “Buzzards” and several other species.

      Reply
  4. Christine Humphrey says:
    June 7, 2018 at 8:02 pm

    What a fun read! I heard the term “collective noun” (never heard this) on Ellen Degeneres TV show. Thanks, great list! Now I will look at your collective nouns for people list.

    Reply
  5. Rajender Joshi says:
    May 15, 2017 at 5:56 am

    Very Good

    Reply

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