Have you ever called a group of woodcocks a “ fall”? Noah Perlut, bobolink researcher, University of New England: “I’ve now studied bobolinks intensively for 14 years and, no, I’ve not heard it.” Have you ever used the term “ chain” for a group of bobolinks?ĭr. Bildstein, Sarkis Acopian Director of Conservation Science, Hawk Mountain Sanctuary: “No, I have not.”
Have you ever referred to a group of vultures as a “ venue”?ĭr. I needed to ask those closest to the source. I needed to know: Are there actual people in the real world who use special group names for certain species? Or is there just one nerd in an office somewhere with a field guide in one hand and a dictionary in the other, matching each species with a cute little term and laughing maniacally when the world collectively coos over the pairing? A group of birds-any birds- is a “flock.” A group of cows is a “herd.” Other than that, I just don’t see enough groups of other animals to need more words. I made that last one up, but how would you know? As familiar as they are, these little nicknames for groups of animals-terms of venery, if you want to get fancy with it-are supposedly delightful quirks of the English language.īut they’ve always left me feeling annoyed.Īnnoyed because, as a lifelong birder, I’ve never once used “parliament” for owls or “murder” for crows or anything of the sort. “Did you know that a group of owls is called a ‘parliament’?” “Did you know that a group of jellyfish is called a ‘smack’?” “Did you know that a group of Indonesian mountain weasels is called a ‘bubble gum’?” In a bad poem, maybe, or as part of an online clickbait-y slideshow.
0 kommentar(er)
