Collective Nouns for Animals

Collective Nouns for Animals (A Fun and Useful Guide for English Learners)

Collective Nouns for Animals

Hello, dear English learners! Welcome to a new lesson from My Lingua Academy. Today, we are diving into one of the most charming corners of the English language — collective nouns for animals.

Collective nouns are special words we use to describe groups of animals. Some are logical, others are poetic, and a few are so strange that they sound like something straight from a medieval storybook. But that is what makes them wonderful — they are memorable, vivid, and perfect for adding colour to your English.

In this lesson, you will learn some of the most common (and most unusual!) collective nouns for animals, complete with example sentences you can actually use.

Why Learn Collective Nouns?

Collective nouns are:

• a delightful part of natural English
• extremely useful for Cambridge exams (B2 First, C1 Advanced) when describing scenes, animals, or narratives
• excellent for improving vocabulary range in your writing
• unforgettable — once you learn them, they stick!

Let’s explore them, category by category.

Common Collective Nouns for Animals

These are the groups you are most likely to hear in everyday English.

A flock of birds

A large group of birds flying or feeding together.

As we walked along the river, a flock of birds suddenly rose into the sky like a moving cloud.

A herd of cows / deer / elephants

Used for large plant-eating animals.

We paused the car as a herd of deer crossed the road gracefully, one after another.

A pack of dogs / wolves

Used for animals that move and hunt as a group.

The documentary showed a pack of wolves working together with incredible coordination.

A school of fish

Used for fish swimming together.

We could see a shimmering school of fish just beneath the surface.

A pride of lions

One of the most famous collective nouns.

The pride of lions rested lazily under the acacia trees in the afternoon heat.

Unusual and Poetic Collective Nouns

These expressions sound almost poetic — and that’s because many of them come from medieval hunting vocabulary.

A murder of crows

A dramatic and memorable phrase.

A murder of crows gathered on the old barn roof, creating an eerie atmosphere in the fading light.

A parliament of owls

Imagine them holding a meeting!

A parliament of owls perched silently on the branches, as if they were judging the whole forest.

A leap of leopards

Both elegant and fierce.

The guide told us that a leopard had recently been spotted near the riverbank.

An army of frogs

Especially common after rain.

After the storm, an army of frogs appeared on the roadside, hopping everywhere.

A crash of rhinoceroses

Perfectly fitting for such powerful animals.

We watched a crash of rhinos grazing peacefully in the distance.

Collective Nouns for Farm Animals

Great for general vocabulary and for anyone writing stories or descriptions.

A brood of chickens

A group of young chickens.

The farmer proudly showed us a brood of fluffy yellow chicks in the barn.

A drove of pigs

A moving group of pigs.

A drove of pigs trotted noisily across the farmyard.

A gaggle of geese

Often noisy and chaotic.

A gaggle of geese blocked the path, honking loudly as we tried to pass.

Collective Nouns for Sea Animals

These are particularly lovely.

A pod of dolphins / whales

One of the most beautiful sights at sea.

We were thrilled to see a pod of dolphins leaping beside the boat.

A colony of penguins

A social and busy community.

A whole colony of penguins waddled across the snow like little gentlemen in tuxedos.

Collective Nouns for Insects (Surprisingly Fun!)

A swarm of bees

A large number moving together.

The beekeeper carefully approached the swarm of bees with calm professionalism.

A cloud of insects

Used for flying insects.

There was a cloud of midges near the lake at sunset.

An army of ants

Perfect for describing many ants moving in formation.

An army of ants marched determinedly along the garden path.

Funny or Very Rare Collective Nouns

A flamboyance of flamingos

Elegant and colourful.

A flamboyance of flamingos stood in the shallow water, creating the perfect holiday photo opportunity.

A prickle of porcupines

Quite appropriate!

We spotted a prickle of porcupines hiding behind the rocks.

A confusion of guinea fowl

They do tend to look confused.

The guide pointed to a confusion of guinea fowl wandering across the safari track.

How to Use Collective Nouns Correctly

A few quick reminders:

Collective nouns are usually singular:

• A flock of birds is flying overhead.

But in British English, we can also use plural verbs when thinking about the group as individuals:

• A flock of birds are circling the field.

Use a/an + collective noun + of + animals. In exam descriptions or storytelling, they add elegance and precision.

Collective Nouns for Animals

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