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A murder of crows

Posted by Smokey Stover on June 15, 2007

In Reply to: A murder of crows posted by David FG on June 15, 2007

: : : A murder of crows

: : : Hello! Would you give some examples of typical usage of this collective noon?

: :
: : A typical use would be as the title of a mystery story or a movie--some fictional work. It has also been used to characterize a diminution of the number of crows found in and around Chicago. It is also used as a whimsical title for various things possibly related to crows, but possibly not. And of course it comes up in discussions of collective words for animals of various species. Much the same might be said of "murder of ravens," except for the Chicago reference. You can also choose, if you prefer, an "unkindness of ravens." If one is talking about rooks (a European variety of crow), one can mention a rookery of rooks, or a clamour of rooks, or a parliament of rooks.

: : Among other groups of birds, I especially like "murmuration of starlings," and "exaltation of larks."

: : If you wish to know how it is used in everyday conversation, well, I guess it isn't. It is perfectly okay to say "flock of crows," which is what most people say when occasion demands. The same is true of "crash of rhinoceri," which most people eschew in favor of "herd."

: : You can find out a lot about collective terms by searching on "animal collectives" or on the term for a group of any single species. One easy to use list is:

: : www.hintsandthings.co.uk/ kennel/collectives.htm

: I agree that these things are not used. As an amusing diversion they are fine, but I have never heard anyone actually say them.

: DFG

Thanks, David, for not calling attention to my egregious omission of Geoffrey Chaucer's "A Parliament of Fowles."

Although the names we actually use for groups of a single species are not normally what we would call fanciful, nonetheless such groups have to have a name, and herd or flock will not always suffice. It's not fanciful to call a group of lions a pride. They certainly aren't a herd. The word covey is often used in regard to partridges, and sometimes grouse and ptarmigan as well. In the U.S. I have often heard speak of a covey of quails, but my dictionary says that bevy is the proper term for a group of quails--or of roes, larks and maidens (or ladies).

Naming aggregates of humans is sometimes challenging. I found a blog by a cleric who belongs to an ecumentical group of clergy who call themselves a "fraternity." Why not? It's a term often used for groups of clergy. But in this group the only male is the author of the blog.
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