Ravens can damage crops and harm livestock. These large black birds (not to be confused with crows) have coexisted with humans for thousands of years, yet some people regard them as pests. Was it unkind to name a group of ravens an unkindness? Maybe, maybe not. These remarkable animals have lived continuously in Yellowstone National Park, in Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho, since prehistoric times. So, we think they’ve earned the right to be obstinate and to refuse to change their actions just because we humans want them to. But in the US buffalo is used informally, as well as the word bison, which is preferred for more formal or scientific purposes. That’s because buffalo are only found in South Asia and Africa. Try to make a large number of buffalo do something against their will, and you’re sure to come up against some obstinacy! Fun fact: in North America, both bison and buffalo refer to the American bison. Jellyfish can be found on shallow or deep ocean waters, and even beached jellies can smack you with their venomous and painful sting. Other collective nouns for a group of jellyfish are bloom or swarm. 6. A smack of jellyfishĪ smack is “a sharp slap or blow typically given with the palm of the hand as a rebuke or punishment.” And, that’s what it feels like when you suddenly get caught in a group of jellyfish. Not as regal, but arguably just as important. The US Fish & Wildlife Service asks: “What is more important than the symbol of our country?” Interestingly, a group of alligators is also referred to as a congregation. It typically refers to an important gathering. 5. A convocation of eaglesĪ convocation of eagles sounds regal. The word convocation means a large, formal assembly of people. So, lemurs may lead to conspiracies-but with each other, they’re tight. Lemurs also conspire together against predators using a technique called “mobbing,” in which the entire group attacks a snake. They live in communities of a few to 25 individuals, and they work together-or conspire-to use warning signals to alert other members of pending danger. Lemurs are small, long-tailed primates that live in trees on the island of Madagascar. Bloat means “to become swollen with fluid or gas,” and hippopotamuses have barrel-shaped bodies that look, well, bloated. Hippopotamuses tend to live in a group, or bloat, of 10 to 30 animals led by one dominant male hippo. And, interestingly enough, the term lounge lizard, coined in the early 1900s, is slang for a well-dressed man who hangs out in bars, cafés, and hotel lounges with the aim to seduce wealthy women. Lizards tend to be territorial and use sit-and-wait hunting strategies. Perhaps, Berners observed some lizards lounging in the sun when she coined this one. The adjective flamboyance means “strikingly bold or showy,” and for these social birds that range in color from light pink to bright red, we think it’s properly descriptive. It also seems that Berners had a penchant for poetry and liked alliteration, based on this one. A flamboyance of flamingosĪ flamboyance of flamingos is a colorful and appropriate name for what scientists call a flock of the pink birds. Berners, who had an intimate knowledge of wildlife, may not have intended these names to be taken seriously, but they were repeated through the ages and are now commonly used. The book is attributed to Juliana Berners who gave animal groups imaginative yet oddly appropriate names. Many of the group names can be traced back to The Book of Saint Albans, published in 1486, about angling, hawking, and hunting. And, many of these animal groups have colorful, fanciful names: a murder of crows, a covey of partridges, a clowder of cats. Strangely, terms of venery is a collective noun that means a group of animals. What do hunting and sexual desires have in common? We could point to several things, but from a linguistic point of view, we’re referring to the archaic word venery, which means both hunting (from the Latin venor) and sexual desire (from Latin veneria, referring to Venus).
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