Collective nouns

[DebbieTheCat]

Here is a 'loveliness' of ladybirds* on my dahlia plant...

What other collective nouns are suitably apt?
I love a murmuration of starlings and a parliament of owls.

*a bit poetic licence as there are only five in the pic, and not hundreds 😅

** The 5th one is on the mulch at the bottom of the photo, under the bottom two 🙈

I like murder of crows

A charm of hummingbirds
A gaggle of geese
I like the sound of this one:
A convocation of eagles.

A flamboyance of flamingos

A prickle of hedgehogs (honestly!)

A business of ferrets!

So funny, I image them as accountants sitting in an office! 😂

These are brilliant, thanks!

I've just learnt it's a 'rainbow of butterflies'. 🌈 🦋

A clan of badgers.
A team of pigs ( heh heh)
A crash of rhinos!
And a skulk of foxes....
How very descriptive they all are!

We learn something new everyday.

I love collective nouns 😀

A clowder of cats 🐈‍⬛ 🐈 🐾

A kindle of kittens

A halo of golden retrievers!

I live in South Africa and always love a ‘Dazzle of Zebras’ 🦓

I wonder what the relationship is the camouflage pattern used by the Navy in WW2 ?

ChatGPT:

Yes, “a dazzle of zebras” likely draws inspiration—at least metaphorically—from WWI naval camouflage known as “dazzle camouflage”, not WWII specifically. Here’s the connection:

• Dazzle camouflage was used during World War I, primarily on ships, to confuse enemy submarines about a vessel’s speed and direction. It involved bold, contrasting geometric patterns—similar to a zebra’s stripes.
• Zebras’ black-and-white stripes were long thought to serve a similar confusion or disruption function, especially in motion, potentially helping to deter predators or biting insects by making it hard to single out one animal or judge its direction.

So, while not a direct military term, the phrase “a dazzle of zebras” evokes that same visual disruption effect seen in dazzle camouflage—and may have been playfully influenced by it.

A clattering of jackdaws.

We have one passing over our house every evening around sunset. It starts to get quite big and noisy at this time of year.

I discovered last week that a group of puffins is occasionally known as an ‘improbability’ 😁

A parliament of owls is nice. 🦉 🦉 🦉 🦉 🦉 🦉
(not to mention A Flange of Gorillas)

I like making my own up. I have recently used:
An overdraft of boats
An incompetence of dog owners (not dog bashing, just owner bashing)
A frustration of technology
A hilarity of puppies

Just remembered another African one…

A tower of Giraffes when standing and a journey of Giraffes when moving. 🦒

An embarrassment of pandas.

On holiday in Majorca - an irritation of cyclists

A paddle of platypus
A galaxy of starfish
A rhumba of rattlesnakes

A friend and I invented a few during a long drinking session once, but I can only remember a glut of tourists.

How about...

An Absence of Biscuits?😂