List of animal names

For many animals, particularly domesticated ones, there are specific names for males, females, young, and groups.

Mother sea otter with sleeping pup, Morro Bay, California.

The best-known source of many English words used for collective groupings of animals is The Book of Saint Albans, an essay on hunting published in 1486 and attributed to Juliana Berners.[1] Most terms used here may be found in common dictionaries and general information web sites.[2][3][4]

Generic terms

The terms in this table apply to many or all taxa in a particular biological family, class, or clade.

Scientific term	Young	Female	Male	Collective noun	Collateral adjective	Trivial name
Aves	chick	hen	cock	flock	avian	bird
Bovinae	calf	cow (bred), heifer (not bred)	bull (intact), ox or steer (castrated)	herd, kine (archaic)	bovine	cattle; cow
Canidae	puppy, pup,[5] cub, whelp	bitch	dog	pack	canine	dog
Cetacea	calf	cow	bull	pod	cetacean	whale, dolphin, porpoise
Equidae	colt (male), filly (female), foal	jenny (asses), mare (other equids)	jack (asses), stallion (other equids), gelding (castrated horse)	herd	equine	horse
Felidae	kitten (non-big cats, such as Felis, Lynx, Puma,[6] etc.), cub (big cats, Panthera, and also Puma)	queen	tom	clowder (small cats), pride (big cats)	feline	cat
Suidae	piglet	sow	boar	drift or drove	porcine	pig
Procyonidae	cub, kit	sow	boar	gaze, smack, committee	procyonine, nasuine, others	Raccoon family of Carnivorans
Viverridae	cub, kit	sow	boar	gaze, smack, committee	viverrine	Civet family of Carnivorans
Mustelidae	kit	sow (large) or jill (small)	Boar (large) or hob,[7] jack (small)	colony (large) or Business (small)	musteline	Ferret family of Carnivorans (large = badgers & wolverines; small = weasels & ferrets)
Leporidae	nestling	jill	jack	nest or band	leporine	rabbits & hares
Osteichthyes	fry, fingerling	?	?	school, shoal	piscine, ichthyic	bony fish

Terms by species or taxon

Animal	Young	Female	Male	Collective noun	Collateral adjective	Culinary noun for meat
A
Aardvark	cub	sow	boar	N/A	orycteropodian
Albatross	chick	N/A	N/A	flock[8] rookery[9] gam (when searching for mates)[10]	diomedeid
Alligator	hatchling	cow	bull	congregation[11]	eusuchian
Alpaca[12]	cria	hembra	macho	herd	camelid
Anole	hatchling	?	?	?	dactyloidian
Ant	larva pupa	queen (fertile) worker soldier	drone	army[13] bike[13] colony[13][14] nest[11] swarm[13]	formic myrmicine
Anteater	pup	sow	boar	N/A	vermilinguan
Antelope	calf[15]	doe	buck	herd[13][16] cluster[13][16] tribe[13][16]	alcelaphine bubaline antilopine
Ape	baby child infant	N/A	N/A	group family band shrewdness[2][11][16][17] troop[11][13][16]	simian
Armadillo	pup baby	sow	boar	N/A	cingulatan
Ass/donkey	foal	jenny	jack	herd[13] coffle[13][16] drove[11][13][16] pace[13][14][16]	asinine
B
Baboon	infant	babuina[18]	?	flange[19][note 1] troop[2][11][19]	?
Badger	cub kit	sow	boar	cete[2][11][14][19] colony[19]	musteline
Barracuda	N/A	N/A	N/A	school[20]	percesocine
Bat	pup	N/A	N/A	cloud[19][21] colony[14][19] flock[22] camp[23]	pteropine noctillionine
Bear (list)	cub[24]	sow she-bear	boar	sleuth[11][14][19] sloth[11][14][19]	ursine
Beaver	kit kitten pup	N/A	N/A	family[11] colony[11][19]	castoridine
Bee	larva pupa	queen worker [note 2]	drone	cast (a second swarm)[19] cluster (of workers around the queen)[19] colony[19] drift[2][19] erst[2][19] grist[11][19] hive[2][11][19] nest[11] rabble[19] stand[19] swarm[2][11][19]	apic apian apiarian
Binturong	cub	?	?	?	?
Bird (list) Also see Aves	chick	hen	cock	flock[2] flight[2] pod[2]	avian
Bison	calf	cow	bull	herd	bovine bubaline
Bluebird	?	?	?	?	?
Boar (wild pig) Also see Pig	piglet farrow shoat/shote (just weaned)	sow	?	herd[19][25] singular[11][25] sounder (groups of 12 or more)[11][25]	?
Bobcat	bobkitten	?	?	?	feline
Budgerigar / Budgie	chick	?	?	?	psittacine
Buffalo	calf	cow, heifer	bull	herd[11][14][19] troop[11] gang[11][14][19] obstinancy[11][14][19]	bovine
Butterfly	caterpillar larva pupa chrysalis	?	?	flight[19] flutter[11][26] rabble[19] swarm[27]	pieridine pierine lepidopteran
C
Camel	calf	cow	bull	caravan[11] flock[11] herd train[11]	camelid cameline
Capybara	pup	?	?	?	?
Caracal	kitten	?	?	?	feline
Caribou	calf	doe	buck	herd	rangiferine
Cassowary	hatchling chick	?	?	N/A	ratite
Cat (list)	kitten kit	molly queen pussy	tom king gib (castrated male)[28]	clowder[2][11] cluster[11] clutter[29] glaring[2][11] pounce[11] kindle (kittens)[30] litter (kittens) pillow (kittens)	feline
Caterpillar	?	?	?	army[11][31]	nymphal-lepidopteran
Cattle[note 3] (list)	calf[32]	cow[33]	bull	herd[11] drove[11] yoke (oxen) team (oxen)	bovine[note 4] taurine (male) vaccine (female) vituline (young)	beef veal
Chamois	calf	doe	bull	herd	rupicaprine
Cheetah	cub	she-cheetah	cheetah	coalition (male)[34]	feline
Chicken (list)	chick	hen pullet	rooster cock cockerel capon (castrated male)	flock brood[11] peep (chicks)[11] clutch (eggs)	galline	poultry
Chimpanzee	infant	empress	emperor blackback	troop tribe	panine
Chinchilla	kit	velvet sow	boar bull	?	chinchilline
Chough	chick	?	?	chattering[2][17][35] clattering[2][17][36]	corvine
Coati	pup kit	sow	boar	troop	nasuine
Cobra	?	?	?	quiver[37]	elapid
Cockroach	nymph	?	?	intrusion[37]	blattid
Cod	codling	?	?	school	gadoid gadine
Cormorant	chick shaglet	?	?	gulp[11][14][37] flight	?
Cougar	cub kitten	she-cougar	?	?	feline
Coyote	pup puppy cub whelp	bitch	dog	pack	canine
Crab	zoea	hen jenny	cock jimmy	?	cancrine
Crane	chick colt[38]	?	?	herd[39][40][41] sedge[14] sege[42] siege[43]	alectorine
Cricket	nymph	?	?	?	?
Crocodile	hatchling	cow	bull	bask[11] congregation float[11]	crocodilian
Crow	?	?	?	murder[2][11]	corvine
Cuckoo	?	?	?	?	?
Curlew	?	?	?	herd[2][17]	?
D
Deer	calf[15] fawn	doe hind cow[15]	buck stag bull[15] hart (red deer)	bunch[44] herd[44] mob[44] rangale[44]	cervine elaphine	venison humble (organ meat)
Dhole	pup	?	?	pack	?
Dingo	pup	?	?	pack	?
Dinosaur (list)	hatchling juvenile calf (herbivores) chick (carnivores)	cow (herbivores) doe (carnivores)	bull (herbivores) buck (carnivores)	herd (herbivores) pack (carnivores)	dinosaurian
Dog (list)	pup[5] puppy whelp[45]	bitch	dog stud sire	pack (wild)[14][44] kennel[44] mute[14] litter (young)[46] cowardice (curs)[14][47] comedy (boxers)[48][49] cry (hounds)[50]	canine
Dogfish Also see Shark	?	?	?	troop[44]	selachian squaloid	Spiny dogfish capeshark (USA) flake (UK, AUS) huss (UK) kahada (CAN)[51] rigg (UK) rock salmon (UK)
Dolphin	calf pup	cow	bull	school[44] pod[52][53] herd team[44]	delphine
Donkey (list)- See Ass
Dove	chick	hen	cock	arc[11] cote dole[2][44] dule[11][44] flight[2][11][44] piteousness[2][44] pitying[11]	columbine
Dragonfly	nymph	queen	king drake	cluster flight	anisopteran
Duck (list) Also see Mallard	duckling	duck hen	drake cock	On land: flock herd badling[14] brace[14] safe[2] sord[44] sore[44] waddling[44] On water: bunch[2][44] paddling[2][44] raft[2][44] In flight: skein[44] string[44] team[14][44]	anatine fuliguline	poultry
Dugong	calf	cow	bull	herd	dugongine
Dunlin	chick	?	?	fling[2]	?
E
Eagle	eaglet fledgling	N/A	N/A	convocation[11][14]	aquiline
Echidna	puggle (in common use, but not scientifically endorsed)	?	?	N/A	tachyglossine
Eel	leptocephalus (larva) elver (juvenile)	N/A	N/A	bed[11] swarm[11]	anguilline
Eland	calf	cow	bull	herd	bovine
Elephant	calf[32]	cow[33]	bull[54]	herd memory[11] parade[23]	elephantine proboscine proboscidean
Elephant seal	calf	cow	bull	herd pack	miroungan
Elk (wapiti)	calf[15]	cow[15]	bull[15]	gang[11] herd[11]	cervine	venison
Emu	chick hatchling	?	?	mob[11]	?
F
Falcon	eyass/eyas	falcon	tiercel tercel terzel	cast[23]	acciptrine
Ferret	kit	jill	hob	busyness[17] business[11][14]	musteline
Finch	chick	hen	cock	charm[14]	fringilline
Fish (list)	fry fingerling	?	?	school[3]	piscine
Fisher	kit	?	?	?	gulonine musteline
Flamingo	chick	?	?	flamboyance[55] stand[23]	phoenicopterine
Fly	maggot	?	?	business[11] cloud[11] swarm[11]	dipterous
Flycatcher	chick	?	?	?	?
Fox	cub[24] kit pup[5]	vixen	tod dog reynard	leash[11][14] skulk[11][14]	vulpine
Frog	polliwog tadpole froglet	?	?	army[14]	ranine
G
Gaur	calf	cow	bull	herd	bovine gaurine	garabeef
Gazelle	calf[15]	cow[15]	bull[15]	herd	gazelline
Gecko	hatchling	dam (herpetoculture)	sire (herpetoculture)	?	?
Genet	kit	?	?	?	vivverine
Gerbil	pup	doe	buck	horde	gerbilline
Giant panda	cub	sow	boar	sleuth[56] embarrassment [57]	ailuropodine
Giraffe	calf	cow	bull	herd corps[58] tower[58][59]	giraffine
Gnat	larva	?	?	cloud[11][14][58] horde[11][14][58] rabble[58] swarm[11][58]	?
Gnu	calf	cow	bull	herd implausibility[60]	?
Goat (list)	kid	nanny doe doeling	billy buck buckling wether (castrated)	herd flock[58] tribe[58] trip[58] trippe[58]	caprine	chevon cabrito mutton
Goldfinch	?	?	?	charm[58]	cardueline
Goosander	?	?	?	dopping[58]	?
Goose	gosling	goose	gander	On land: flock gaggle[14][58] plump[58] In flight: skein[2][14][58] team[2][58] wedge[2][58] chevron	anatine anserine	poultry
Gorilla	infant	N/A	blackback silverback	band[11][14][58] troop[11] whoop[58]	simian
Goshawk	?	?	?	flight[17][58]	?
Grasshopper	nymph	?	?	cloud[58] swarm[58]	caeliferian
Grouse	?	?	?	covey[58] pack[58]	tetraonine
Guanaco	chulengo[61]	?	?	herd	camelid
Guinea fowl	keet	hen	cock	rasp[62] flock[63]	numidine	poultry
Guinea pig	pup	sow	boar	herd	?	cuy
Gull	chick	hen	cock	colony flock	larine
H
Hamster	pup	doe	buck	horde	cricetid
Hare	leveret	doe jill	buck jack	band down[64] drove[64] flick[64] husk[64]	leverine leporine
Hawk	eyas	hen	tiercel	cast[65][note 5] aerie[65][note 6] staff[65][note 7] leash[65][note 8] flight[65][note 9] flock[65] Soaring in large groups: kettle[11][65] boil[14][65] cauldron[65]	accipitrine
Hedgehog	hoglet piglet pup	sow	boar	array[64]	erinaceine
Hermit crab	zoea	?	?	?	paguroid
Heron	chick	hen	cock	flight[64] sedge[11][14][64] sege[42][64] siege[11][14][43][64]	ardeidine
Herring	?	?	?	army[14][64] glean[64] shoal[64]	clupeidean
Hippopotamus	calf	cow	bull	sea[11][14][64] herd[64] thunder[37]	hippopotamine
Hoatzin	chick	?	?	?	?
Hoopoe	chick	?	?	?	?
Hornet	larvae pupae	queen	drone	bike[64] nest[14] swarm	vespine
Horse (list)	foal colt (male) filly (female) gelding (castrated male)	mare dam	stallion stud	stable[11] stud[14] harras[14] herd (wild horses)[11] band (wild horses)[11] team (work horses)[11][14] rag (colts)[14] string (ponies)[14] field (racehorses)	equine
Human	baby child infant girl (female) boy (male)	woman lady (colloquial)	man gentleman (colloquial)	group family band crowd clan tribe horde	human simian
Hummingbird	chick	hen	cock	?	trochiline trochilidine
Hyena	cub pup whelp	bitch	dog	pack[66] cackle[11][14] clan	hyenine
I
Ibex	kid	nanny	billy	herd[67]	caprine
Ibis	chick	?	?	?	threskiornithine
Iguana	hatchling	cow	bull	?	?
Impala	calf	ewe	ram	herd	?
J
Jackal	pup	?	?	pack	?
Jaguar	cub	?	?	prowl[68] leap[68] parade[23]	?
Jay	chick	hen	cock	band[11] party[14] scold[14]	corvine
Jellyfish	planula polyp ephyra[69]			bloom brood[11] fluther[2] smack[2][14] smuth[9]	scyphozoan
Jerboa	?	?	?	?	dipodine
K
Kangaroo	joey	flyer doe jill roo	boomer buck jack	court herd troop[14] mob[70]	macropodine
Kingbird	chick	?	?	?	tyrannid
Kingfisher	chick	?	?	?	alcedine
Kinkajou	pup kit	sow	boar	troop convergence	potosine
Kite	chick	?	?	?	accipitrine
Koala	joey	doe	buck	?	phascolarctine
Kodkod	kitten	?	?	?	feline
Komodo dragon	hatchling chick calf	cow hen	bull cock	?	varanine
Kookaburra	chick	?	?	?	?
Kouprey	calf	cow	bull	herd	sauveline bovine
Kudu	calf	cow	bull	herd	tragelaphine
L
Langur	infant	?	?	troop	colobine
Lapwing	chick	?	?	deceit[14][17] desert[2]	vanelline
Lark	chick	hen	cock	exaltation[2][17]	alaudine
Lechwe	calf	?	?	herd	?
Lemur	infant	?	?	conspiracy[71]	lemurine
Leopard	cub	leopardess	leopard	leap[2][11][14] lepe[2]	pardine
Lion	cub[24]	lioness	lion	pride[72][73][40] sawt[40][74]	leonine
Lizard	hatchling	?	?	?	?
Llama	cria	hembra	macho	herd flock	camelid
Lobster	?	hen[3]	cock[3]	risk	homarine
Locust (list)	nymph	N/A	N/A	cloud host swarm	caelifera
Loris	infant			colony[75]	lorisine[76]
Louse	nymph	N/A	N/A	colony	pediculine
Lynx	kitten	?	?	?	feline
Lyrebird	chick	hen	cock	musket[77]	menurine
M
Macaque	infant	?	?	?	simian
Macaw	hatchling	?	?	?	?
Magpie	chick	hen	cock	flock	garruline
Mallard Also see Duck	duckling	hen	greenhead[78]	sord[2] suit[2]	anatine	poultry
Mammoth	calf	cow	bull	herd pack	mammutine
Manatee	calf	cow	bull	herd	manatine sirenian
Mandrill	infant	N/A	N/A	horde	simian
Margay	kitten	?	?	?	feline
Marmoset	infant	?	?	?	simian
Marmot	?	?	?	?	?
Meerkat	meerkitten	N/A	N/A	?	herpestine
Mink	cub kit	sow	boar	?	musteline
Mole	pup	sow	boar	labor[23]	talpine
Mongoose	pup	?	?	troop committee delegation	herpestine
Monkey	infant	N/A	N/A	troop[2]	simian
Moose	calf[15]	cow[15]	bull[15][54]	herd	cervine	venison
Mosquito	nymph wriggler tumbler	N/A	N/A	swarm cloud	aedine anopheline
Mouse	kitten pup As pet food: pinky/fuzzy/crawler/hopper[79]	doe	buck	colony nest	murine
Myna	?	?	?	?	?
N
Narwhal	calf	?	?	?	?
Newt	eft[80]	?	?	?	pleurodeline
Nightingale	chick	hen	cock	watch[39][40][41]	philomelian
Nilgai	?	?	bull	?	bovine
O
Ocelot	kitten	queen	torn	clowder	feline
Octopus	fry	hen[81]	?	consortium[82]	octopodine
Okapi	calf	cow	bull	herd	okapine
Oncilla	kitten	?	?	?	feline
Opossum	joey	jill	jack	passel[83]	didelphine
Orangutan	baby child infant	?	?	family troop band	simian
Oryx (gemsbok)	calf	?	?	herd	?
Ostrich	hatchling chick	hen	cock	flock troop	ratite struthious
Otter	pup whelp	sow	boar	romp family[23]	musteline lutrine
Ox See Cattle
Owl	fledgling owlet	?	?	parliament[11]	strigine
Oyster	spat	?	?	bed[11]	ostracine
P
Panther	cub	pantheress	panther	?	pantherine
Parrot	chick	hen	cock	flock	psittacine
Panda- See Giant panda
Partridge	chick	hen chantelle	cock	?	perdicine
Peafowl	chick peachick	peahen	peacock	?	pavonine	poultry
Penguin	chick nestling	?	?	waddle (on land)[84][85] raft (in water)[84] rookery[84] colony[84] huddle[84] tuxedo[9]	spheniscine
Pheasant	chick	hen	cock	flock bouquet[11][14] nest[14] nide[14] nye[11][14]	phasianine
Pig (list) Also see Boar	piglet farrow shoat/shote (just weaned)	sow (bred), gilt (not bred)[86]	boar hog, barrow (castrated)[87] [88]	drift[11][14][89] drove[11][14] sounder (older pigs)[23] team (older pigs)[23] litter (piglets)	porcine suilline	pork ham bacon
Pigeon (list)	squab squeaker	hen	cock	flock flight[90] kit[90]	pullastrine	squab
Pika	?	?	?	?	?
Polar bear	cub	sow	boar	aurora[91] celebration[91] pack[91]	ursine
Pony- See Horse
Porcupine	pup	sow	boar	prickle[90]	hystricine
Porpoise	calf	cow	bull	pod school shoal	phocoenine
Prairie dog	pup	sow	boar	town	cynomurine
Pug	pup	bitch	dog stud sire	grumble[92]	?
Q
Quail	chick	hen	cock	bevy[72][73][39][40][41]	galliformine
Quelea	chick	hen	cock	flock	queline
Quetzal	nestling	?	?	flock	trogonine
R
Rabbit (list)	bunny kit kitten nestling	doe jill	buck jack yoyo	nest[73] litter (young) warren wrack (young)	leporine
Raccoon	cub kit	sow	boar	gaze[72] nursery committee smack brace troop	procyonine
Ram Also see Sheep	lamb	ewe	ram	flock	arietine ovine	lamb mutton
Rat (list)	kitten pup	doe	buck	colony horde mischief[93][94]	murine
Raven	chick	hen	cock	conspiracy unkindness[39][40][95]	corvine
Red deer	calf	hind	stag hart	herd	?	venison
Red panda	cub	sow	boar	pack	ailurid
Reindeer (caribou)	calf	cow	bull	herd	rangiferine
Rhea	chick	?	?	?	?
Rhinoceros	calf	cow	bull	herd crash[96]	ceratorhine
Rook	?	?	?	building[2] parliament[2][97]	?
S
Saki	?	?	?	?	pitheciine
Salamander	larva	?	?	maelstrom	caudatan salamandrine
Salmon	parr[98]	hen	cock	?	salmonine
Sand dollar	larva pluteus (free swimming stage) juvenile (young urchin)	?	?	?	clypeasteroid
Sandpiper	?	?	?	fling[99]	scolopacine
Sardine	?	?	?	family [99]	?
Sassaby	calf	?	bull	herd	alcelaphine
Sea lion	pup calf	cow	bull	?	otarine
Seahorse	seafoal	seamare	seastallion	shoal	hippocampal
Seal	pup[5]	cow	bull	herd[99] pod[99] rookery[99]	phoca
Serval	kitten	?	?	?	feline
Shark	cub[24] pup[100]	?	bull	shiver [57]	selachian squaloid	flake (AUS)
Sheep (list) Also see Ram	lamb lambkin cosset	ewe dam	ram buck wether (castrated)	flock[72][73] fold[101] herd	ovine	lamb mutton hogget
Shrew	shrewlet	sow	boar	colony drove	soricine
Shrike	chick	?	?	?	corvid corvine
Siamang	?	?	?	?	?
Skink	hatchling	?	?	?	scincine scincoid
Skipper	caterpillar	?	?	?	papilionid
Skunk	kit	sow	boar[3]	surfeit	mephitine
Sloth	kitten pup baby	sow	boar	N/A	xenarthran (broader group)
Snail	?	N/A	N/A	escargatoire[99][102] rout[99][103] walk[99]	gastropodian	escargot
Snake (list)	snakelet hatchling (newly hatched) neonate (newborn)	N/A	N/A	nest[73] ball slither	anguine elapine serpentine viperine ophidian
Spider (list)	spiderling	?	?	cluster[99] clutter[99]	arachnine arachnoid
Spoonbill	chick	?	?	?	?
Squid	paralarva			shoal	Teuthidane
Squirrel	pup kit kitten	doe	buck	scurry[37]	sciurine
Starling	?	?	?	chattering[11][35] murmuration[2][11][14][17]	sturnine
Stilt	chick	?	?	?	recurvirostrid
Swan	cygnet flapper	pen	cob	flock lamentation bevy[23] game[23] wedge (in flight)[23]	cygnine
T
Tamarin	?	?	?	?	simian
Tapir	calf	cow	bull	herd	tapirine
Tarsier					tarsiine
Termite	larva	?	?	colony nest swarm	isopteran
Thrush	chick	?	?	?	turdine
Tiger	cub[24] whelp	tigress	tiger	ambush[11] streak[37]	tigrine
Toad	tadpole toadlet	N/A	N/A	knot[11][14]	ranine batrachian
Topi	calf	cow	bull	herd	alcelaphine
Toucan	chick	?	?	?	?
Turaco	?	?	?	?	?
Turkey (list)	poult	hen	gobbler stag tom jake (immature)	rafter[104][105]	?	poultry
Turtle	hatchling	N/A	N/A	bale[106]	chelonian
V
Vicuña	calf	cow	bull	posse herd	camelid
Vinegaroon	?	?	?	?	?
Viper	hatchling	?	?	?	viperine
Vulture	chick	?	?	?	?
W
Wallaby	joey	jill	jack	mob	?
Walrus	calf	cow	bull	herd[73] pod[73]	odobenine
Wasp	larva	queen worker	drone	swarm hive colony nest	vespine
Water buffalo	calf	cow	bull	?	?	carabeef
Waxwing	?	?	?	?	?
Weasel	pup kit	bitch doe jill	buck dog hub jack	gang[16] sneak[16]	musteline
Whale	calf[32]	cow[33]	bull	pod[72][73] school gam[23]	cetacean cetaceous	blubber
Wobbegong	?	?	?	?	?
Wolf	pup[5] puppy cub whelp	bitch she-wolf	dog	pack[72][73]	lupine canine
Wolverine	kit whelp	angeline	wolverine	pack	musteline
Wombat	joey	jill	jack	wisdom[107]	?
Woodpecker	chick	?	?	?	?
Worm	?	?	?	?	caecilian
Wren	chick	cow	bull	?	troglodytine
Y
Yak	calf	cow	bull	herd	?
Z
Zebra	foal colt (male) filly (female)	mare	stallion	herd[11][108] cohort[108] dazzle [109] zeal[11][108]	zebrine hippotigrine

Usage of collective nouns

Merriam-Webster writes that most terms of venery fell out of use in the 16th century, including a "murder" for crows. It goes on to say that some of the terms in The Book of Saint Albans were "rather fanciful", explaining that the book extended collective nouns to people of specific professions, such as a "poverty" of pipers. It concludes that for lexicographers, many of these don't satisfy criteria for entry by being "used consistently in running prose" without meriting explanation. Some terms that were listed as commonly used were "herd", "flock", "school", and "swarm".[110]

Writing for Audubon, Nicholas Lund says that many such terms are not used in actuality. When he interviewed scientists who specialize in studying specific animals, they had not heard of these terms, such as a "bask" of crocodiles or "wisdom" of wombats, being applied in their fields. Lund noted that the common plural nouns for animals were "flock" for birds and "herd" for cows, conceding that for certain animals in small groups, there was currency in usage such as a "pod" of whales or "gaggle" of geese.[111]

Notes

The term "flange" was originally used to denote a group of baboons in a Not the Nine O'Clock News comedy sketch entitled "Gerald the Intelligent Gorilla" where it was used for comic effect. It has since been used in the scientific literature for a collection of baboons.
A worker bee is a sexually undeveloped female.
Castrated male cattle are steers in the United States, or bullocks in the United Kingdom. Oxen are draft animals that are (if male) usually castrated but not necessarily. A young cow that has not given birth is a heifer. See Cattle for more names. Cows is often used informally to refer to cattle in general.
Bovine refers to all species of genus Bos.
The term "cast" is a classic 15th-century term of venery Archived 2014-05-07 at the Wayback Machine that refers to only two "hawks of the tower" but in modern usage does not necessarily have the same numerical constraint. Confusingly, hawks of the tower are technically falcons and not hawks.
The term "aerie" is a classic 15th-century term of venery Archived 2014-05-07 at the Wayback Machine that refers to only two "hawks of the tower" but in modern usage does not necessarily have the same numerical constraint. "Aerie" also refers to hawks and other birds of prey nesting high on a mountain top. Confusingly, hawks of the tower are technically falcons and not hawks.
The term "staff" is a classic 15th-century term of venery Archived 2014-05-07 at the Wayback Machine that refers to only three "hawks of the tower" but in modern usage does not necessarily have the same numerical constraint. Confusingly, hawks of the tower are technically falcons and not hawks.
The term "leash" is a classic 15th-century term of venery Archived 2014-05-07 at the Wayback Machine that refers to only three "hawks of the tower" but in modern usage does not necessarily have the same numerical constraint. Confusingly, hawks of the tower are technically falcons and not hawks.
The term "flight" is a classic 15th-century term of venery Archived 2014-05-07 at the Wayback Machine that refers to only "hawks of the wrist" to include goshawks and sparrowhawks. Hawks of the wrist are true hawks in the genus Accipiter.

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