Blog # 414: A Duet of Osprey—Collective Nouns for Birds
One of the most remarkable things about the animal kingdom and just one of the many crazy things about the English language is the variety of collective nouns that all mean “group.” A ‘flock’ of flamingos, a ‘swarm’ of swallows, or a ‘group’ of eagles: many bird species have different collective nouns to describe large groups, such as a ‘raft,’ a ‘band,’ a ‘host,’ a ‘chime,’ and or a ‘kettle.’ Although many of these terms are seldom used, antiquated, or just plain silly (like ‘mewing’ for catbirds), they are still unique and distinctive names known to birders. A flock of crows is also known as a ‘murder’ as crows were once considered an omen of death because of their habit of scavenging dead bodies—human-based carrion—for food.
Many terms for flocking are descriptive not only of the bird group but also their behaviors and personalities. Understanding these esoteric terms and their associated behaviors offers new avenues of study and a deeper appreciation for ornithology and the development of its terminology over the ages.
What constitutes a flock? Not every group of birds is a flock. Flocks are defined by two distinctive parameters—the size and the species in the group.
There is safety in numbers; the larger the group, the better the protection. But how many birds does it take to reach the threshold of a flock? Two or three birds is too few, although there is no set minimum number of birds in a flock. As a general rule, larger groups are always considered flocks, while smaller groups can be deemed flocks if they are rarely seen in groups. For instance, gregarious species such as gulls, ducks, and starlings are often seen in very large groups. Consequently, a half dozen of these birds together is too few to be called a flock. Less social birds, such as hummingbirds or grosbeaks, can be considered a flock if there were only a few birds since they are much less likely to gather in larger groups.
Any large group of birds, composed of different species also makes up a flock if used in general terms. For example, a group of mixed-species sparrows can be called a knot, flutter, host, quarrel, or crew if they are part of the flock. A group of wading birds made herons, godwits, egrets, flamingos, storks, and plovers, for example, are simply a flock if it is composed of species that already have different collective nouns assigned. However, specialized terms are usually saved for single-species flocks. The exception is when all the species constituting the flock are in the same family.
What is the advantage of flying together? Birds form clusters of organized groups, called flight flocks, to increase the odds of survival and safety. In other words, there is safety in numbers. Birds tend to find food more efficiently in flocks and protect each other from danger and predators. Flying in a "V" or chevron formation is thought to conserve energy in flocks. Birds drafting each other's flapping wings can make the journey easier and less exhausting.
Murmuration of starlings, courtesy of Gerdtromm
Some flight flocks can perform wondrous aerial acrobatic feats. Starling flocks produce a synchronized cloud of movement creating fantastic undulating shapes called murmurations. These choreographed dances are thought to deter predators like hawks or falcons from attacking the group. Moving as one not only confuses the predator but also decreases the individual risk each starling faces. A more subtle acrobatic maneuver is performed by flocking dunlins. The flock synchronizes tilting their bodies slightly as a way to camouflage their plumage to confuse predators.
Another case for using specialized terms are for flocks consisting of just one type of bird or a group of closely related species like the veery and wood thrush, often used to describe the group. The most colorful and creative flock names include:
Birds of Prey: (hawks, falcons): cast, cauldron, kettle
Bobolinks: chain
Cardinals: college, conclave, radiance, Vatican
Catbirds: mewing
Chickadees: banditry
Chickens: peep, brood, clutch
Cormorants: flight, gulp, sunning, swim
Coots: cover
Cowbirds: corral, herd
Cranes: herd, dance
Creepers: spiral
Crossbills: crookedness, warp
Crows: murder, congress, horde, muster, cauldron
Doves: bevy, cote, flight, dule
Ducks: raft, team, paddling, badling
Eagles: convocation, congregation, aerie
Finches: charm, trembling
Flamingos: flamboyance, stand
Frigatebirds: fleet, flotilla
Game Birds: (quail, grouse, ptarmigan): covey, pack, bevy
Geese: skein, wedge, gaggle, plump
Godwits: omniscience, prayer, pantheon
Goldfinches: charm, treasury, vein, rush, trembling
Grosbeaks: gross
Gulls: colony, squabble, flotilla, scavenging, gullery
Herons: siege, sedge, scattering
Hummingbirds: charm, glittering, shimmer, tune, bouquet, hover
Jays: band, party, scold, cast
Kingbirds: coronation, court, tyranny
Kingfishers: concentration, relm, clique, rattle
Knots: cluster
Lapwings: deceit
Larks: bevy, exaltation, ascension, happiness
Loons: asylum, cry, water dance
Mallards: sord, flush
Ospreys: duet
Owls: parliament, wisdom, study, bazaar, glaring
Painted Buntings: mural, palette
Parrots: pandemonium, company, prattle
Pelicans: squadron, pod, scoop
Phalaropes: swirl, twirl, whirl, whirligig
Pheasants: nye, bevy, bouquet, covey
Plovers: congregation
Quail: battery, drift, flush, rout, shake
Ravens: murder, congress, horde, unkindness
Roadrunners: race, marathon
Sapsuckers: slurp
Skimmers: scoop
Snipe: walk, wisp
Sparrows: host, quarrel, knot, flutter, crew
Starlings: chattering, affliction, murmuration, scourge, constellation
Storks: mustering
Swallows: flight, gulp
Swans: wedge, ballet, lamentation, whiteness, regatta
Teals: spring
Terns: cotillion
Turkeys: rafter, gobble, gang, posse
Vultures: committee, venue, volt, wake
Warblers: confusion, wrench, fall
Woodcocks: fall
Woodpeckers: descent, drumming
Wrens: herd, chime
Eyes to the sky!
Candace
Candace E. Cornell
Friends of Salt Point, Lansing, NY
Cayuga Lake Osprey Network
Guest Photographer:
Cynthia Sedlacek, musician and Director of Data Administration and Reporting at Cornell University, is a surprising artistic talent. Cynthia’s affection and admiration for raptors are evident in her exciting photographs primarily of Ospreys nesting around Cayuga Lake and the red-tailed hawks of the Cornell Campus. Her photographs of local Ospreys are incomparable as she captures their essence, their jizz, and their inner bird. From the hard-to-see nestlings to the fast-flying adults, Cindy goes beyond the pale to catch all aspects of Osprey life in the Cayuga Basin. “My camera allows me to capture their beauty in many ways that the human eye can’t see,” she says, “like their spectacular wing positions and detailed feather patterns.” Cindy and her husband Karel are also avid nest monitors for the Cayuga Lake Osprey Network and video stream footage of the campus hawks.
EYES TO THE SKY!
WATCH!
READ!
On Osprey Time: Ospreys of the Finger Lakes
VISIT!
HELP PROTECT OSPREYS:
•Stay 300 feet away from nests during the breeding season. If the Osprey vocalizes, you are too close! Back off Immediately.
•Carry binoculars to view wildlife from afar.
•Help keep local waters clean, healthy, and safe.
•Recycle used fishing lines, twine, and nets, which can kill Osprey.
•Join the Cayuga Osprey Network and volunteer to help monitor Osprey nests: cec222@gmail.com.
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