On leaving the Amana colonies, we came across these birds.
What do you call a grouping of coots?
Curious minds want to know. I looked it up.
I guess they are called a cover of coots.
We also saw several groups of wild turkeys.
Do you know what a grouping of turkeys is called?
A rafter of turkeys!
Evidently, they were often roosting on the rafters of barns so that is why they were called that.
Now I was curious about other bird groups!
Here are names for other groupings: (with pictures I have taken, although most of these are not in a group)
A grouping of cardinals has several names: college, conclave, deck, radiance and Vatican. I love these descriptions!
A bevy of quail
A bouquet of pheasants when flushed, but a nye of pheasants on the ground.
A brood of hens or a peep of chickens
A cast of hawks [or falcons]
Usually hawks are loners.
They don't flock together.
We see them in the country usually spaced perhaps a mile apart on the telephone poles.
This one landed on my deck.
And on my lawn. I see them regularly.
A charm of finches
Hummingbirds in a group are also called a charm, however,
I've never seen more than 2 at a time at my feeder.
A coronation or court of kingbirds.
Also a tyranny.
Eastern kingbird
western kingbird - Isn't it beautiful?? I've only seen 2 here.
A tiding of magpies which we don't have around here.
A murder of grackles
It looks like he's in for the kill!
A company of parrots
A congregation of plovers
A covey of partridges [or grouse or ptarmigans]
A deceit of lapwings
A descent of woodpeckers
A dole of doves
An exaltation of larks
A fall of woodcocks
A flight of swallows [or doves, goshawks, or cormorants]
A circlage of martins
Purple martins are a type of swallow also.
A host of sparrows or even crew, flutter, meinie, quarrel or ubiquity of sparrows. And boy, do we ever have a HOST of them! In the Bible when there was a host of angels announcing to the shepherds the birth of the Saviour, it is the image of the entire sky filled with angels. And I think sparrows do that here in Kansas too!
The junco is a type of sparrow. I love this winter bird!
An earful or museum of waxwings
A murmuration of starlings
Starling fledgling
A murder of crows
A banditry or dissimulation of titmice
Here's a picture from my friend's house. When they bought their house in the country, they inherited many peacocks with the property! Do you know how LOUD peacocks are? They were able to find homes for most of them but kept a few. Wouldn't it be awesome to see this site outside your kitchen window?
A party of jays
A squadron, pod or scoop of pelicans
This picture turned out blurry, but there is the grouping of pelicans on the island
Robins tend to be anti-social but have on occasion grouped and are called a round of robins.
A pitying of turtledoves
A siege of herons
A gaggle of geese. Babies are called goslings.
A plump of geese (when in a big clump)
A wedge of geese when in V formation
They fly right by my window!
I could not find a grouping name for the brown thrasher.
A sord of mallards
A paddling of ducks [on the water]
This little guy followed us home from the lake one afternoon.
A dray or scurry of squirrels - oh wait, that isn't a bird!
A convocation of eagles - I have only seen one at a time, not a grouping though. This guy happened to come to our lake one time!
A spring of teal
A pod of eastern meadowlarks
I found many of these names online from Baltimore bird club. I used other sources also.
I had to laugh when I read the following.
"Any of these group names may properly be used by birders who wish to display their erudition, although it is probably linguistically inaccurate (and it certainly is bad manners) to upbraid someone who refers to "a bunch of ravens" by saying, "Surely you mean `an unkindness of ravens,' my good fellow." Most of these terms date back at least 500 years. Some of them have been in continuous use since then; others have gone out of fashion and been resurrected in the last century or two; still others only exist on lists.
Most of these terms are listed in James Lipton's An Exaltation of Larks."If you don't want to call a group of birds a dissimulation of birds, I guess it is ok to call them a flock
When through the woods, and forest glades I wander
And hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees
When I look down from lofty mountain grandeur
And see the brook, and feel the gentle breeze
Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee
How great Thou art, how great Thou art
Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee
How great Thou art, how great Thou art
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