s/y Nine of Cups
A Collection of Animals from our Travels
with their collective names...just for fun
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Certainly, fauna is one of the more fascinating aspects of any place we visit. We've only included animals we either saw in the wild or were domesticated, but not those in cages...no zoos. And
we really mean "animals" as opposed to vegetables or minerals. So there's everything from dung beetles to elephants. To make it a bit more fun and interesting, we researched "collective nouns"
which apply to groups of specific animals. This is a game we used to play now brought into good use for your amusement and trivia enhancement. This is all done a bit "tongue in cheek". Where
no "collective" was known...we made them up, but we'd appreciate any more imaginative ideas you have. We didn't want to duplicate what we've already done specifically with birds, but we did
include some birds when there was a "collective" term for them. Here goes...with some thanks and acknowledgments along the way.
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Chacma Baboons - Cape Point, South Africa .
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A "troop" or a "flange" of baboons, not to be confused with a "shrewdness" of apes.
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Coyote - Henderson, Nevada, USA
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Burchell's Zebra -Etosha Natl Park - Namibia
Lion - Etosha Natl Park - Namibia
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A "pack", "train" or "band of coyotes.
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A "zeal","herd" or "dazzle" of zebras.
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A "pride", "sawt","souse", "sault" or "troop"
of lions.
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Yellow mongoose - Hardap, Namibia
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A "busy-ness" of mongooses (mongeese?)
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Grey Fox - Harberton, Tierra del Fuego
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A "skulk","cloud","troop", "company","leash"
or "earth" of foxes.
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Meerkats - Camdeboo, East Cape, RSA
Prairie Dog - Colorado, USA
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A "coterie" of prairie dogs.
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Anteater - Iquitos, Amazon, Peru
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A "colony", "army", "state" or "swarm" of ants.
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No known "collective". They're loners, but
perhaps a "snoot" of anteaters?
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A "herd", "parade" or "crash" of elephants.
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Elephants - Addo Natl Park, RSA
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A "committee" of vultures.
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Zebra butterflies - Dominican Republic
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Coati (cotimundi) - Iguazu, Argentina
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Giraffes - Etosha Natl Park - Namibia
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A "corps, "troop", "herd","tower", "journey",
"kindergarten" or "kaleidoscope" of giraffes.
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A "swarm", "rabble", kaleidoscope", "flutter"
or "rainbow" of butterflies.
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Sally Lightfoot crab - Galapagos
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Fiddler crab - Eleuthera, Bahamas
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A "cast" of crabs as opposed to crabby characters.
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A brood", "clutch","flock", "run" or "peep of
chickens. A "clutch" or "chattering" of chicks.
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Funky chicken and chicks - Panama
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Three-toed sloth - Panama
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No collective known, but how about a
"laziness" or "slowness" of sloths?
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Howler monkey - Panama
Vervet monkey - East Cape, RSA
A "troop", "cartload" or "barrel" of monkeys.
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Dead rat - Ascension Island (yuck!)
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A "pack", "colony", "swarm" or "mischief" of rats.
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Canada Geese - New Plymouth, NZ
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A "gaggle" or "flock" of geese. Specifically, a
"plump" of geese if on the water.
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A "squadron", "pod" or "scoop" of pelicans.
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Black turkey - New Zealand
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A "rafter" or "gang" of turkeys.
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A "stand" or "flamboyance of flamingoes.
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Warthog - Etosha Natl Park - Namibia
No collective; a "homeliness" of warthogs?
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Cape Buffalo - South Africa
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American bison (buffalo) - Colorado
A "herd", "troup", "gang" or "obstinacy" of buffalo. A "herd" of bison.
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Stingrays - Nassau, Bahamas
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Masked lapwing (plover)- NZ
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Hyena - Etosha Natl Park -Namibia
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A "desert" or "deceit" of lapwings.
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A "herd", "leash" or "mob"of deer.
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A "cackle" or "clan" of hyenas.
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Burrowing owl - La Libertad, Ecuador
A "dray" or "scurry" of squirrels.
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A "parliament", "stare", "wisdom" or
"study" of owls.
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Feral sheep - Ascension Island
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A "flock", "herd", "hirsel", "pack","drove", "trip" or "mob"of sheep.
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After looking websites devoted to
"collective" nouns, I found that there
were zillions. Obviously other people
find these amusing, too!
There's also a book
dedicated to
collective nouns:
"An Exaltation of Larks"
by James Lipton.
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Possum - Iquitos, Amazon - Peru
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Jacobin hummingbird - Trinidad
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A "charm" of hummingbirds.
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A "colony" or "cloud" of bats.
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Jellyfish - Opua Marina, NZ
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A "brood", "smuck" or "smack" of jellyfish.
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White-faced Heron - Opua, NZ
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A "scattering", "siege" or "sedge"
of herons.
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Western Scrub Jay - Marysville, CA
A "party" or "scold" of jays
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A "muster", "ostentation" or pulchritude"
of peacocks.
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A "loveliness" of ladybugs.
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A "murmuration", "filth", "chattering" or
"affliction" of starlings.
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A "den", "pit", "slither", "nest", or "knot" of snakes.
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Ladybug - French Polynesia
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"Potcakes" or stray dogs - Bahamas
Anaconda - Amazon River
Bull (gopher) snake - New Mexico
Guanaco - Salta, Argentina
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Above, the four members of the camelid family native to South America. A "herd" of llamas, but a "caravan", "flock" or "train" of camel(id)s?
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Cormorants (aka shags) - New Zealand
Galapagos penguins - Galapagos Islands
Jackass penguins - Boulders Beach, RSA
A "herd","pace" or "drove"of donkeys.
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A "rookery" or "colony" of penguins .
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A "cup", "solitude" or "flight" of cormorants.
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A "confusion" or "rasp" of guinea fowl.
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Blister beetle - New Mexico
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Dassie or Rock Hyrax - South Africa
No collective for beetles; We suggest an
"irridescence" of blister beetles.
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No collective...A "grouch" of dassies. (They
were pretty irritable.)
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All the "boks" translate to "bucks". So, it's a "brace" or "clash" of bucks although we assume a "herd" would apply as well.
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Steenbok - West Cape, South Africa
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Red Hartebeest - Etosha - Namibia
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No collectives for these so we're here to improvise: A "clash" of kudu; a "bounty" of hartebeest; a "plod" of wildebeest; and a "race" of impala.
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Iguana - Norman's Island, Bahamas
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A "muster" or "mustering" of storks.
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Iguanas are quite different-looking depending where they come from, but all are in the "ugly" category. No collective known so how about a "fright" or "horror" of iguanas?
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Marine iguanas - Galapagos
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Iguana - Guayaquil, Ecuador
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White stork - South Africa
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Springbok - West Cape, South Africa
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We had a "barrel"of fun, a "bundle" of laughs and a "plethora" of pleasure
working on this page. We'll try to add to it as we add new animals and
geographical areas to our growing library of photos. Think about what
Australia and Asia have to offer.
If you're particularly interested in specific animals or countries, try going to
our web page for that country to see more. It's an adventure...enjoy! If
you're specifically interested in Birds of the World, click here or maybe
Butterflies?
And, of course, there's more to come so check back from time to time.
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Green Turtle - Ascension Island
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Black-faced impala - Etosha - Namibia
Blue Wildebeest & babies - Namibia
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Bontebok - West Cape, South Africa
Gemsbok - West Cape, South Africa
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Hammerhead shark - Bahamas
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Maybe a "covey" of capybaras???
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Lizards - Grand Turk, Turks & Caicos
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Desert lizard - Valley of Fire SP - NV
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Whiptail lizard - Bonaire
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A "lounge" of lizards (versus a lounge lizard??)
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Galapagos Tortoise - Galapagos Islands
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Above, Caiman - Iguazu, Argentina.
Right, Caiman, near Cartegena, Colombia
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A "congregation","nest","bask", "float" or "striker"
of caiman (crocs).
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A "bale","dole","turn" or "nest" of turtles.
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Vizcacha (like a chinchilla) - Chile
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Blue Crane - South Africa
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Ruffous-collared Sparrow - Chile
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A 'herd", "siege" or "sedge" of cranes.
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A host" or "knot" of sparrows.
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Hartraub gulls - Walvis Bay, Namibia
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A "flock" or "colony" of gulls.
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Dragonfly - Lin's backyard (Mass.)
A "flight", "weyr" or "wing" of dragon(flies).
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A dead hootie (hootia) - Bahamas
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Definitely, a "herd" of hooties.
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Galapagos sea lion - Galapagos Islands
Cape Fur Seal - Western Cape, South Africa
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Jackal - Etosha NP, Namibia
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Sand dollar (or sea biscuit) - Panama
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A "herd", "harem", "trip", "pod" or "rookery" of seals (sea lions).
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A "pack" of jackals...maybe? works for
wild dogs.
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Squid - in our scuppers SoAtlantic
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Colorful Caterpillar - Ecuador
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Chiloe Widgeon - Chiloe, Chile
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Weta (big bug) - Totora North, NZ
Black-necked Swans - Chiloe, Chile
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Black Swan - Cape Farewell, NZ
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No collective; a "blot" of squids
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An "army"of caterpillars.
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A "game", "bank", "team", "herd","bevy","wedge","lamentation" or "ballet" of swans.
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A "company" or "trip" of widgeons.
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No collective; a "wickedness" of weta.
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Eurasian coot - South Island, NZ
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NZ Dotterel - Cavalli Islands, NZ
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A "covert" or "cover" of coots.
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Flying fish-Cups' scuppers - S. Atantic
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California Quail - New Zealand
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Pecary (porcomonte) - Darien, Panama
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A "school" of (flying) fish.
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A "bevy," "covey" or "drift" of quail.
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Horses - Totara North, NZ
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Mallard Duck - Nelson, NZ
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A "herd", "trip" or "litter" of pigs. Maybe that applies to pecaries, too.
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A "tittering","tiding","gulp","murder" or
"charm" of magpies.
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A "raft", "paddling","bunch","badling" of
ducks on water.
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A "field", "herd","remuda","set" or
"stable of horses.
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A "pandemonium" or "company"
of parrots.
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Dung beetle AND dung - Namibia
A "flock", "herd", "tribe" or "trip" of goats
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A "shitload" of dung beetles.
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Painted Locust - Galapagos
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A cloud","plague" or "swarm of locusts.
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Wood pecker - Arizona, USA
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Big spider - Isabela, Galapagos
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A "school" or "pod" of dolphins.
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A "descent" of woodpeckers.
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An "entanglement" of spiders ???
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A "grift", "hive", "swarm", "drift" or
"bike" of bees
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Cottontail rabbit - Henderson, NV
A "knab" or "knot" of toads.
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A " bury", "colony","circle", "nest" of
rabbits.
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Sacred blue-eyed eels - Huahine, Fr Poly
An "array" or "seething" of eels.
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An "unkindness" or "murder" of ravens.
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A "kuddle" of koalas
(because they're not really bears)
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An "army","colony" or "knot" of frogs.
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Koala - Raymond Is, Australia
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Kangaroos - Bundaberg, Australia
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Dingo - Bundaberg, Australia
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Green tree frog -Australia
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