25 strange names for groups of animals that will amaze you

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25 Strange Names For Groups of Animals That Will Leave You Speechless

Language is full of surprises, but few corners of the English lexicon are as delightfully bizarre as the collective nouns used to describe groups of animals. Forget “a group of crows” or “some sharks” — the actual terms are far more evocative, poetic, and downright strange. We’re talking about a murder of crows, a shiver of sharks, and an embarrassment of pandas.

These peculiar phrases aren’t random modern inventions. Many trace their roots back to 15th-century medieval England, where elaborate terminology for groups of animals was considered a mark of educated social standing. Texts like The Book of St. Albans (1486) codified hunting vocabulary for the nobility, giving us terms that have endured for centuries. Others are more modern coinages, born from poetic observation or simple humor.

Whether you’re a language enthusiast, a wildlife lover, or just someone who enjoys a good dose of weird trivia, these 25 strange names for groups of animals will completely reshape how you think about the animal kingdom — and the English language.

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What Makes a Collective Noun “Strange”?

Before diving into the list, it’s worth understanding what earns a collective noun the label of “strange.” Some terms are strange because they feel morbid and unexpected. Others are strange because they’re wildly poetic. And some are strange simply because they capture an animal’s personality so perfectly that it’s almost unsettling.

The best collective nouns do something remarkable — they tell a small story about the animal in a single word. A flamboyance of flamingos doesn’t just label a group; it paints a picture. That combination of precision and imagination is exactly what makes these terms so endlessly fascinating.

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25 Strange Names For Groups of Animals

1. Crows — A Murder

Few collective nouns are as dramatically unsettling as this one. A murder of crows is thought to stem from ancient folklore and superstition, where crows were closely associated with death, bad omens, and even the supernatural. Some scholars also point to the crow’s behavior of gathering in large, loud groups that can seem ominous — as if conducting some dark council.

2. Owls — A Parliament

Owls have long been symbols of wisdom and solemnity, so it’s fitting that a group of them forms a parliament. The term evokes images of serious, deliberate governance — which, given an owl’s stoic stare, feels entirely appropriate.

3. Flamingos — A Flamboyance

This one practically explains itself. With their shocking pink plumage and theatrical wading, flamingos are the showboats of the bird world. A flamboyance of flamingos captures their collective visual impact perfectly.

4. Sharks — A Shiver

Whether this refers to the chill of seeing a fin breach the surface or the involuntary shudder that runs through you when one glides beneath you, a shiver of sharks is one of the most viscerally effective collective nouns in existence.

5. Jellyfish — A Smack

Nobody agrees entirely on the origin, but a smack of jellyfish is wonderfully expressive. Some suggest it references the sound they make hitting the water. Others think it nods to the sharp sting they deliver. Either way, it’s one of the more satisfying animal group names on this list.

6. Pandas — An Embarrassment

This is almost certainly a modern, whimsical coinage — and it’s perfect. Giant pandas are famously clumsy, notoriously difficult to breed in captivity, and prone to tumbling over themselves in the most undignified ways. An embarrassment of pandas feels like someone was watching a wildlife documentary and couldn’t help themselves.

7. Lemurs — A Conspiracy

The shadowy, wide-eyed lemur is already one of nature’s more mysterious-looking creatures. Calling a group of them a conspiracy leans hard into that energy. Whether they’re actually plotting anything is debatable — but they certainly look like they might be.

8. Ravens — An Unkindness

Like crows, ravens carry centuries of dark symbolic baggage. An unkindness of ravens reflects the medieval perception of these birds as harbingers of misfortune. Edgar Allan Poe would approve.

9. Butterflies — A Kaleidoscope

Here’s the poetic end of the spectrum. When butterflies cluster together, their wings create shifting patterns of color and movement — a living, breathing kaleidoscope. This collective noun is less strange and more genuinely beautiful.

10. Apes — A Shrewdness

Great apes are among the most intelligent animals on Earth, capable of using tools, solving complex problems, and even learning sign language. A shrewdness of apes acknowledges that intelligence directly. It’s one of those rare collective nouns that functions almost as a compliment.

11. Bears — A Sleuth

The word sleuth originally meant “track” or “trail” in Old Norse and Middle English — long before it became synonymous with detective work. A sleuth of bears likely refers to bears tracking prey or their methodical, deliberate movement through a landscape. It’s also inadvertently hilarious to imagine a group of bears investigating a crime scene.

12. Rhinoceroses — A Crash

This one needs no elaborate etymology. Rhinoceroses are massive, armored, and not particularly concerned with what’s in their way. A crash of rhinoceroses is exactly what you’d expect to happen when several of them decide to move in the same direction at the same time.

13. Cats — A Clowder (or Glaring)

Clowder is thought to derive from an old dialectal English word meaning “clutter” — referring to a confused, tangled heap. Anyone who has watched a group of cats occupy a sofa simultaneously will find this entirely relatable. The alternative term, a glaring of cats, is equally accurate for anyone who has interrupted a feline’s nap.

14. Kittens — A Kindle

Not every strange collective noun is dark or dramatic. A kindle of kittens comes from the Old English word kindlen, meaning “to give birth to.” It’s one of the older, more etymologically grounded terms on this list — and arguably one of the sweetest.

15. Ferrets — A Business

Ferrets are endlessly energetic, perpetually curious, and seemingly always occupied with some urgent personal errand. A business of ferrets captures that relentless, bustling energy. You never see a ferret that doesn’t look like it has somewhere extremely important to be.

16. Bats — A Cauldron

While colony is technically the more accepted term, a cauldron of bats is the one that earns its place on this list. It conjures a perfect image: bats churning out of a cave at dusk in a swirling, roiling mass — like something bubbling over in a witch’s cauldron.

17. Pugs — A Grumble

Whoever coined this term clearly spent significant time around pugs. A grumble of pugs references both the distinctive vocal sounds the breed makes and the general air of put-upon indignation that pugs seem to carry at all times. It’s one of the funniest collective nouns for any domestic animal.

18. Flamingos — A Flamboyance, Zebras — A Dazzle

Zebras deserve a spotlight here specifically for a dazzle — a term that’s actually rooted in visual science. When a large herd of zebras moves together, their contrasting black-and-white stripes create a disorienting optical effect that confuses predators. The collective noun isn’t just poetic; it’s functionally accurate.

19. Otters — A Romp

Watching otters play is one of nature’s more joyful spectacles. They chase each other, slide down riverbanks, float on their backs holding hands, and generally behave like they’re on permanent holiday. A romp of otters captures that spirit of exuberant, chaotic fun perfectly.

20. Alligators — A Congregation

Something about calling a group of prehistoric apex predators a congregation — a word most commonly associated with churchgoers — creates a wonderfully absurd mental image. The term likely references how alligators gather together in groups on riverbanks, motionless and solemn, like attendees at a very serious service.

21. Magpies — A Tiding (or Parliament, or Gulping)

Magpies have more collective nouns than almost any other bird, but a tiding is the most interesting. In folklore, the number of magpies you see at once was thought to predict your fortune — the old rhyme “one for sorrow, two for joy” being the most famous example. A tiding of magpies reflects that prophetic superstition directly.

22. Hedgehogs — A Prickle

Straightforward, descriptive, and completely charming. A prickle of hedgehogs is one of those collective nouns where you suspect the person who coined it was simply looking at a hedgehog at the time and working with what they had.

23. Eagles — A Convocation

Like the parliament of owls, a convocation of eagles carries a weight of authority and ceremony. Eagles have symbolized power and sovereignty across cultures for millennia — in ancient Rome, medieval heraldry, and modern national emblems alike. Gathering them in a convocation feels entirely appropriate.

24. Skunks — A Stench

There’s zero ambiguity here. No poetic layering, no historical nuance, no medieval hunting terminology required. A stench of skunks is the most honest, unvarnished collective noun in the animal kingdom, and its bluntness is its charm.

25. Turkeys — A Rafter

Domestic turkeys are known to roost in the rafters of barns and farm buildings, which is the most straightforward explanation for this term. Wild turkeys, for comparison, are called a gang — which somehow feels both more threatening and more appropriate given that wild turkeys are significantly more assertive than their domestic counterparts.

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The History Behind These Peculiar Terms

Most of the strange names for groups of animals that survive today come from a specific tradition in late medieval England. Books of Courtesy — etiquette manuals for the aristocracy — included extensive sections on proper hunting vocabulary. Knowing the correct collective noun for any given animal was a social signal, proof that you were educated and refined.

The Book of St. Albans, printed in 1486, is one of the earliest surviving compilations of these terms. It includes many that are still in use today, alongside others that have faded into obscurity. The book was as much about linguistic performance as it was about actual hunting — these words were tools for social navigation.

Not every term has medieval roots, though. Some collective nouns are clearly modern coinages, invented by naturalists, writers, or simply creative observers at some point in the last few centuries. The embarrassment of pandas, for instance, is almost certainly a recent addition, given that giant pandas weren’t known to Western science until the 19th century.

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Why We Love These Names

There’s a reason lists of strange collective nouns for animals consistently attract readers. These terms sit at a fascinating intersection of language, culture, and nature — and they reveal something important about how humans have always related to the animal world.

Collective nouns anthropomorphize animals without being sentimental about it. A parliament of owls doesn’t claim that owls have political opinions; it simply acknowledges that humans find meaning and pattern in animal behavior. These names are acts of creative interpretation, small poems compressed into a single noun.

At List25, content that surprises you at the sentence level is the goal — and few things do that more effectively than discovering that a group of sharks has been called a shiver for centuries, or that someone, somewhere, looked at a gathering of pandas and arrived at embarrassment as the definitive word.

These terms also remind us that language is never static. It grows and adapts, absorbs humor and history, and sometimes produces something so perfect — so precisely right — that it endures for five hundred years.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Where do collective nouns for animals come from?

Many originate from 15th-century English Books of Courtesy, particularly The Book of St. Albans (1486), which catalogued hunting terminology used by medieval nobility. Others are more modern coinages, developed by naturalists, writers, or popular usage over time.

Are these collective nouns officially recognized?

Most are recognized in reference works and dictionaries, but English has no single governing authority. Some terms are universally accepted (like murder of crows), while others are more informal or debated. Many animals have multiple collective nouns that are used interchangeably.

Why is a group of pandas called an embarrassment?

The exact origin is unclear, but it’s widely attributed to the panda’s endearingly clumsy behavior and its notorious difficulty in reproducing in captivity. It’s considered a modern, humorous coinage rather than a term with medieval roots.

What is the collective noun for a group of cats?

The most common term is a clowder of cats, derived from an old English word for clutter. A group of cats can also be called a glaring, especially when they’re gathered and staring (which is most of the time).

Is a group of jellyfish really called a smack?

Yes — smack is a widely recognized collective noun for jellyfish, though bloom and swarm are also used. The origin of smack is debated, with theories ranging from the sound they make to the sensation of their sting.

Do all animals have specific collective nouns?

Not every animal has a widely recognized or distinct collective noun. Some animals — particularly less commonly observed species — simply use generic terms like group, herd, or colony. The more culturally significant or commonly observed an animal, the more likely it is to have an established collective noun.

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The Language of the Animal Kingdom

The 25 strange names for groups of animals on this list are more than just linguistic trivia. They’re windows into centuries of human observation, imagination, and storytelling — a record of how people across different eras looked at the natural world and reached for words to capture what they saw.

A shiver of sharks, a murder of crows, a parliament of owls — each term carries its own history, its own logic, its own small flash of creativity. Learning them doesn’t just make you better at pub quizzes. It makes the natural world feel richer, stranger, and considerably more interesting than it already was.

Now, the only question is: which one is your favorite?

Last Update: July 17, 2026