Speaking about animals, we normally group them into congregations: отара овец, стая птиц, табун лошадей, косяк рыб, пчелиный рой, свора собак. We have to use a precise word denoting a group of a particular species of animals.
Cattle are usually called ‘ herd’ [hɜːd]:
a herd of cows/ giraffes/ deer/ zebras/ hippopotami/ horses/ donkeys
‘H erd’ can also be used with those animals which live, hunt, graze together and roam together:
a herd of wolves/ elephants/ seals/ whales/ kangaroos – стадо/стая
Sometimes we can use ‘ drove’ [drəuv] denoting grazing cattle: a drove of сattle / pigs / donkeys - стадо
However, we can come across such phrases:
a drove of rabbits/ goats/ hares – группа кроликов/ коз/ зайцев
Wild animals are usually called ‘ band’ [bænd]:
a band of wolves/ gorillas / buffalo – стая, стадо, группа
Groups of wolves and dogs can be described as ‘ pack’ [pæk]:
a pack of wolves/dogs/ coyotes – свора
Hunters normally say ‘ leash’ [liːʃ] implying a pack of predators (foxes, wolves, dogs) consisting of three animals:
a leash of foxes/ wolves/ dogs
Monkeys in groups are a ‘ troop’ [truːp]
a troop of monkeys/ gorillas/ baboons – группа, стадо
‘Troop’ can unite other animals, birds or insects.
There are particular names for some groups of animals:
a parade of elephants – стадо
a pride of lions – прайд
a clowder of cats – стая
Speaking about birds in general, it’s better to use ‘ flock’ [flɔk] (стая):
a flock of birds/ geese/ seagulls - стая
However, ‘ flock’ can also denote a group of animals:
a flock of sheep/ goats / deer– отара
If you want to say about domestic birds, use ‘ brood’ [bruːd]
a brood of chicks – выводок цыплят
At the same time there are various means of conveying the meaning of ‘a group’ for different types of birds.
a host of sparrows
a parliament of owls (Owls are considered to be wise, so they are called ‘a parliament’.)
a sedge of cranes (Sedge is a kind of grass that grows in marshlands where cranes and herons live)
a convocation of eagles – стая орлов (Convocation is a large formal meeting. No wonder such a solemn words is employed for this species!)
a murder of crows/ magpies
a company of parrots
a flight of swallows
a stand of flamingoes
Let’s pass over to fish. They also have names for groups!
Fish usually gather into a ‘ school’ [skuːl] or a ‘ shoal’ [ʃəul]:
a school/shoal of tuna/ mackerel/ salmon/ herrings/ shark – стая/ косяк
a small group of big fish or marine animals is called a ‘ pod’ [pɔd]:
A pod of dolphins/ whales/ killer whales/ walrus/ seals
If we want to unite marine inhabitants living at the bottom we need the word a ‘ bed’:
a bed of mussels/ oysters/ clams/ snakes – колония/поселение
Flying insects make up a ‘ swarm’ [swɔːm]:
a swarm of mosquitoes/ bees/ flies/ gnats – рой
Such insects as ants live in colonies:
a colony of ants/ termites – колония
Moreover, the word ‘ colony’ ['kɔlənɪ] is used for groups of other animals living and breeding in one place.
a colony of cats/seals – выводок
a colony of mice / rats/ squirrels/ bats - гнездо
A group of insects and reptiles is called a ‘ nest’ [nest]:
a nest of hornets / ants/ bees/ caterpillars – гнездо
a nest of snakes/ turtles – гнездо
To denote a group of insects or animals which can cause damage the word ‘ horde’ [hɔːd]
a horde of rats/ gnats/ hamsters – рой/скопление/стая
You can find a more detailed list of group names in the table below.
Animal | Name of a group | Translation |
Albatross | Rookery | стая альбатросов |
Antelopes | Herd, cluster | стадо антилоп |
Ants | Nest, army, colony, state, swarm, bike | колония муравьёв |
Apes | Shrewdness, troop | стадо, стая, группа обезьян |
Asses | Pace, drove, herd, coffle | стадо ослов |
Baboons | Troop, flange | стадо бабуинов |
Badgers | Cete, colony, set, company | семья барсуков |
Bats | Colony, cloud | колония летучих мышей |
Bears | Sloth, sleuth, slought | семья медведей |
Beavers | Family, lodge, colony | семья, колония бобров |
Bees | Swarm, cluster, nest, hive, erst, bike, cast, college, drift, game, fry, peck, rabble, stand, range, butt, spindle, grist | колония, рой, гнездо, улей пчёл |
Birds | Battery, cast, congregation, covert, covey, drift, flight, fleet, flock, flush, nest, aviary | стая птиц |
Bison | Herd | стадо бизонов |
Boars | Sounder, singular, herd | стадо кабанов |
Buffaloes | Troop, herd, gang, obstinacy | стадо бизонов |
Butterflies | Rabble, flight, kaleidoscope | стая бабочек |
Camels | Flock, train, caravan, herd | караван верблюдов |
Caribou | Herd | стадо северных оленей |
Caterpillars | Army, nest | колония гусениц |
Cats | Clowder, clutter, cluster, colony, glorying, kindle, litter, dout, parliament, seraglio, glaring, destruction (wild cats) | выводок, помёт, стая кошек |
Cattle | Drove, herd, bow, bunch, draft, drift, flote, head, diary | поголовье, стадо скота |
Chicken | Brood, clutch, hatching, nest, parcel, peep, battery, flock | выводок цыплят |
Chinchilla | Colony | стая шиншилл |
Clams | Bed | колония моллюсков |
Cockroaches | Intrusion | полчище тараканов |
Colts | Rake, rage | стадо жеребят |
Cows | Dairy, drove, pack, team | стадо коров |
Crabs | Cast | колония крабов |
Cranes | Flock, herd, sedge, siege, sege | стая журавлей |
Crocodiles | Bask, nest | стая крокодилов |
Crows | Murder, parcel, hover | стая ворон |
Deer | Herd, leash, bevy, game, quarry, bunch, mob | стадо оленей |
Dogs | Gang, legion, kennel, pack, stud | свора собак |
Dolphins | Team, school | стая, стадо дельфинов |
Ducks | Bunch, brood, knob, raft, skein, string, mob, paddling, plump, sord, sore, team, waddling | стая уток |
Eagles | Aerie, brood, convocation, cargo | стая орлов |
Eels | Swarm, bed, bind, draft, fry, wisp | стая угрей |
Elephants | Herd, flock, parade | стадо слонов |
Elks | Gang, herd | стадо лосей |
Ferrets | Business | стая хорьков |
Finches | Chirm, charm | стая зябликов |
Fish | School, shoal, haul, draught, run, catch, cran, flote, flutter, cast, throw, warp | косяк рыб |
Flies | Business, hatch, grist, swarm, community, fare, rabble, cloud | рой мух |
Flamingoes | Stand | стая фламинго |
Foxes | Cloud, skulk, brace, leash, troop, earth | стая лисиц |
Frogs | Army, colony, froggery | скопление, колония лягушек |
Geese | Gaggle, clutch, flock, line, skein, nide, wedge | стая, караван гусей |
Giraffes | Herd, corps, troop, tower | стадо жирафов |
Gnats | Swarm, cloud, horde, plague, rabble | рой мошек |
Goats | Flock, trip, herd, tribe | стадо коз |
Goldfish | Troubling | стая золотых рыбок |
Gorillas | Band | стая, стадо горилл |
Grasshoppers | Cloud | стая кузнечиков |
Hares | Down, flick, huske, kindle, tripp, drove, warren, dun | выводок, семья зайцев |
Hawks | Aerie, brood, cast, leash, mews, staff | стая ястребов |
Hedgehogs | Nest, array | выводок ежей |
Hens | Battery, brood, parcel, roost, mews, concatenation | поголовье кур |
Hippopotami | Bloat, school, pod, herd | стадо гиппопотамов |
Horses | Haras, stud, herd, string, field, set, team, stable, mews, mob, parcel, rag, slate | табун лошадей, стадо лошадей |
Insects | Horde, nest, swarm, rabble, plague | рой насекомых |
Jellyfish | Smuck, fluther, smack, stuck, smuth, brood | скопление медуз |
Kangaroos | Troop, mob, herd | стадо кенгуру |
Kittens | Kindle, litter | выводок, помёт котят |
Larks | Bevy, exaltation, flight, wisp | стая жаворонков |
Leopards | Leap | стая леопардов |
Lice | Flock | колония вшей |
Lions | Pride, troop, flock, sawt, souse | прайд львов |
Locusts | Swarm, cloud, plague | стая саранчи |
Magpies | Tiding, tittering | стая сорок |
Mice | Nest, colony, harvest | колония мышей |
Minnows | Shoal, steam, or swarm | косяк мальков |
Moles | Company, labour, citadel (of mole burrows) | семья кротов |
Monkeys | Troop, cartload, tribe | стадо обезьян |
Moose | Herd | стадо лосей |
Mosquitoes | Scourge | рой, стая комаров |
Otters | Bevy, lodge, family | семья выдр |
Owls | Parliament, stare | стая сов |
Oxen | Team, yoke, drove, or herd | стадо быков |
Oysters | Bed, cast, clam, hive, set | колония устриц |
Parrots | Company, flock, pandemonium | стая попугаев |
Peacocks | Muster, ostentation | стая павлинов |
Penguins | Parcel, rookery | стая пингвинов |
Pigeons | Flight, flock, loft | стая голубей |
Pigs | Drove, fare, litter, flock, hoggery, sounder, nest of trotters | стадо свиней |
Porpoises | School, crowd, herd, shoal, gam, pod, turmoil | стая, стадо белух |
Quail | Bevy, covey, jug | стая, выводок перепелов |
Rabbits | Bevy, bury (of conies), flick, kindle, nest, game, warren, colony | группа кроликов |
Racoons | Nursery | семья енотов |
Ravens | Unkindness | стая воронов |
Reindeer | Herd | стадо оленей |
Rhinoceros | Crash, stubbornness, herd | стадо носорогов |
Rooks | Building, clamour, congregation, council, pack, shoal, wing | стая грачей |
Salmon | Run, bind | косяк лосося |
Sardines | Family | косяк сардин |
Scorpions | Bed, nest | гнездо скорпионов |
Seals | Pod, herd, trip, rookery, flock, plump, harem | стадо, колония, лежбище тюленей |
Sharks | School or shoal | стая акул |
Sheep | Flock, hirsel, drove trip, drift, fold, hurtle, parcel, mob, down, pack | отара овец |
Snails | Escargatoire, rout, walk | колония улиток |
Snakes | Bed, knot, den, pit | клубок, гнездо змей |
Spiders | Cluster, clutter | скопление пауков |
Squirrels | Drey, colony | стая белок |
Starlings | Cloud, chattering, murmuration, clattering | стая скворцов |
Stoats | Pack, trip | стая горностаев |
Storks | Flight, mustering, phalanx | стая аистов |
Swallows | Flight, gulp, rush | стая ласточек |
Swans | Flock, bevy, bank, eyrar, drift, game, herd, sownder, team, wedge | стая лебедей |
Swine | Sounder, drift, herd, trip, drone, singular (of boars) | стадо свиней |
Tigers | Ambush | стая тигров |
Toads | Knot, nest, knob | группа жаб |
Trout | Hover, leash, troup | косяк форели |
Turkeys | Duet, crop, posse, rafter, gang | стая индюшек |
Turtles | Bale, dole, turn, dule | черепаший пляж, |
Vipers | Nest | гнездо гадюк |
Vultures | Carpets, cast, drove, flock, herd | стая грифов |
Walruses | Pod, herd, huddle | стадо моржей |
Wasps | Nest, knot, knab, bike, swarm | рой ос |
Weasels | Pack | стая куниц |
Whales | School, gam, mob, pod, herd, plump, run, flote, shoal | стадо китов |
Wildfowl | Lute, plump, scry, skein, sord, trip | стая дичи |
Wolves | Rout, route, pack, head, horde | стая волков |
Woodpeckers | Descent | стая дятлов |
Worms | Bed, clew, bunch, clat | скопление червей |
Zebras | Herd, zeal, cohorts | стадо зебр |