I recently revisited this etymological beauty with it's wonderful illustrations of old engravings. Then I decided to glean the historical bird-related collective nouns, or nouns of multitude, from it's pages and share them with you. Don't mention it, you're totally welcome.
Now we've all heard, and likely used the terms "a gaggle of geese", or "a skein of geese; "a raft of ducks"; "a murder of crows"; "a clutch of eggs"; or even "a murmuration of starlings". But here is a list of lesser known, and certainly lesser-used voluble treasures that will make your inner-bird-nerd giggle with delight:
A spring of teal
A rafter of turkeys (though I think "a goblet" would be more appropriate)
A walk of snipe
A fall of woodcocks
A siege of herons
A charm of finches
A cast of hawks
A deceit of lapwings
A bouquet of pheasants
A tidings of magpies
A congregation of plovers
An unkindness of ravens (this one is unfair in my opinion!)
A host of sparrows
A watch of nightingales
A mustering of storks
A gulp of cormorants
A stand of flamingos
A paddling of ducks
An ostentation of peacocks
A pitying of turtledoves
A flight of swallows
And for my three personal favorites:
A parliament of owls
A descent of woodpeckers (I think this one is also applicable to nuthatches)
A family of biologists
I motion to add "a blur of shorebirds"; "a confusion of gulls"; "a chortle of chickadees"; "a wagging of phoebes"; and "a kaleidoscope of warblers" to the list. Any thoughts?
If these really got you going, then I suggest you find yourself a copy of James Lipton's An Exaltation of Larks because it's chock full of other gems such as "a skulk of foxes"; "a richness of martens"; "a labor of moles"; "a hack of smokers"; and "an odium of politicians". But in the words of Reading Rainbow's LeVar Burton - "you don't have to take my word for it".
I'll see you next time...
