Murder of Crows and Other Weird Animal Names From History

Ever wonder why it's a "murder" of crows but a "flock" of sheep? Why a group of lions gets the dignified title "pride" while ravens are stuck with an "unkindness"? The answer lies in a 538-year-old hunting manual that reads like it was written by someone who really enjoyed messing with people.

Welcome to the world of "terms of venery," the fancy medieval names for animal groups that somehow survived long enough to make it into modern dictionaries. And yes, venery here means hunting, not what you're thinking.

The Book of Saint Albans: When Knowing the Right Words Could Save Your Social Life

In 1486, getting the collective noun wrong at a royal hunt would announce to everyone that you didn't belong in polite society. Getting it right earned you "worship among all men," as the Book of Saint Albans puts it. No pressure.

The Book of Saint Albans, printed at St. Albans in 1486, was the ultimate gentleman's handbook covering hawking, hunting, and heraldry. Its real claim to fame was a list of collective nouns that mixed practical hunting terms with what can only be described as medieval trolling.

The book is credited to Juliana Berners, though scholars agree it was compiled from earlier sources. Berners wrote for "gentle persons" who needed to learn "the terms convenient" for beasts and hounds. This was social training disguised as sport.

The French Connection (Not That One)

These terms didn't appear out of nowhere. English hunting culture borrowed heavily from French traditions. Earlier works like Edward of York's "The Master of Game" had already adapted French hunting manuals, and the Book of Saint Albans continued this tradition. The book even notes when "the terms of a Huntsman" come "according to the French."

Before printing existed, these lists circulated in handwritten booklets. One manuscript in Samuel Pepys's library shows a list "made after the boke of seynt Albons" with 145 entries, proving people were copying and sharing these terms even before the first printed edition.

The Status Game

Hunting in medieval England was one of the clearest displays of social rank. The right vocabulary marked you as someone who knew the rules of both the chase and the upper class. Some terms were practical, some were jokes, but all of them signaled that you fit in polite hunting company.

The book's own words make this clear: knowing and using the correct terms would bring a hunter "worship among all men," meaning respect and status. Miss the mark, and you'd marked yourself as an outsider.

From Manuscripts to Modern Times

After 1486, these terms kept getting reprinted. The St. Albans book spawned multiple editions, including a 1496 printing that added a fishing treatise. In 1595, Gervase Markham repackaged the material in "The Gentleman's Academie," helping it reach new readers.

Centuries later, James Lipton's "An Exaltation of Larks" (1968) collected and popularized many of these expressions for modern audiences. That's why today, more than 500 years later, we still casually drop terms like "murder of crows" and "pride of lions" into conversation.

The Complete Medieval Menagerie

Here's the full list of animal group names from the 1486 Book of Saint Albans, translated into modern English with the original Middle English spellings preserved. Some of these you'll recognize, others... not so much:

Deer and Large Game:

• Herd of harts (AN Herde of Hertis)
• Herd of all manner of deer (an herde of aƚƚ maṅ dere)
• Bevy of roe deer (a Beuy of Roos)
• Singular of boars (a Synguler of Boris)
• Sounder of wild swine (a Soundre of wilde swyne)

Birds of All Feathers:

• Herd of swans (an Herde of Swannys)
• Herd of cranes (an Herde of Cranys)
• Herd of curlews (an Herde of Corlewys)
• Herd of wrens (an Herde of wrennys)
• Nye of pheasants (a Nye of ffesaunttys)
• Bevy of quails (a Beuy of Quaylis)
• Siege of herons (a Sege of heronnys)
• Siege of bitterns (a Sege of betouris)
• Sord or sute of mallards (a Sorde or a sute of malardis)
• Muster of peacocks (a Mustre of Pecockys)
• Walk of snipes (a walke of Snytis)
• Exaltation of larks (an Exaltyng of Larkis)
• Watch of nightingales (a wache of Nyghtingalis)
• Charm of goldfinches (a Cherme of Goldefynches)
• Flight of doves (a fflight of Doues)
• Unkindness of ravens (an vnkyndenes of Rauenes)
• Clattering of choughs/jackdaws (a Clateryng of choughes)
• Dissimulation of birds (a Dissimulacion of breddis)
• Gaggle of geese (a Gagle of gees)
• Brood of hens (a Brode of hennys)
• Badling of ducks (a badelyng of Dokis)
• Covey of partridges (a Couy of partrichis)
• Spring of teal (a Sprynge of Telis)
• Desert of lapwings (a Desserte of Lapwyngꝭ)
• Fall of woodcocks (a faƚƚ of woodecockis)
• Congregation of plovers (a Congregacion of Pleuers)
• Covert of coots (a Couert of cootis)
• Dule of turtle doves (a Dueƚƚ of Turtillis)
• Tiding of magpies (a Titengis of Pies)
• Host of sparrows (an Ost of sparowis)
• Cast of hawks of the tower, two (a cast of haukis of yᵉ tour .ij)
• Leash of the same hawks, three (a Lece of thessame haukis .iij)
• Flight of goshawks (a Flight of Goshaukes)
• Flight of swallows (a Flight of swalowes)
• Building of rooks (a beldyng of Rookes)
• Murmuration of starlings (a Murmuracion of stares)
• School of fish (a Scoƚƚ of ffysħ)
• Peep of chickens (a Pepe of chykennys)
• Cluster of knots [the shorebird] (a Clustre of Nottis)

Beasts Great and Small:

• Pride of lions (a Pride of Lionys)
• Sleuth of bears (a Sleuth of Beeris)
• Cete of badgers (a Cete of Graies)
• Bury of conies/rabbits (a Bery of Conyis)
• Richness of martens (a Riches of Martronys)
• Business of ferrets (a Besynes of ferettis)
• Drift of tame swine (a Dryft of tame Swyne)
• Harras of horses (an Harrasse of horse)
• Rag or rake of colts (a Ragg of coltis or a Rake)
• Barren of mules (a Baren of Mulis)
• Trip of goats (a Trippe of Gete)
• Trip of hares (a Trippe of haaris)
• Route of wolves (a Route of woluess)
• Leap of leopards (a Lepe of Lebardis)
• Shrewdness of apes (a Shrewdenes of Apis)
• Skulk of foxes (a skulke of ffoxis)
• Nest of rabbits (a Nest of Rabettis)
• Labor of moles (a Labor of Mollis)
• Stud of mares (a Stode of Maris)
• Pace of asses (a Pase of Assis)
• Drove of neat cattle (a Droue of Nete)
• Flock of sheep (a fflocke of Shepe)
• Swarm of bees (a Swarme of bees)
• Kindle of young cats/kittens (a Kyndyƚƚ of yong Cattis)

Hunting Dogs:

• Brace of greyhounds, two (a Brace of grehoundis of ij)
• Leash of greyhounds, three (a Lece of Grehoundis of .iij)
• Couple of spaniels (a Coupuƚƚ of spaynellis)
• Couple of running hounds (a Couple of rennyng houndis)
• Litter of whelps (a Litter of welpis)
• Mute of hounds (a Mute of houndes)
• Kennel of raches/hounds (a Keneƚƚ of Rachis)
• Sute of a lyam-hound [leash-hound] (a Sute of a lyam)
• Cowardice of curs (a Cowardnes of curris)

What Makes These Weird Group Names of Animals Stick

"Exaltation of larks" and "Peep of chickens" have a poetic quality that makes them memorable. "Skulk of foxes" perfectly captures the animal's sneaky nature. "Badling of ducks" apparently didn't have the same ring to it, which explains why nobody uses it anymore.

Some terms were clearly practical hunting vocabulary, others were clever wordplay. A "dissimulation of birds" plays on the idea that birds can be deceptive, while "unkindness of ravens" reflects the bird's reputation in folklore. The compilers were certainly trying to exercise their creativity.

Fun fact: The book lists both "bury of conies" and "nest of rabbits" for the same animals. So even in 1486, there wasn't complete agreement on the "correct" terms.

The Lasting Legacy

Today, most people know maybe a dozen of these terms, but they've become part of how we think about animals. Wildlife documentaries use them, nature writers love them, and they pop up in everything from crossword puzzles to pub trivia.

The Book of Saint Albans preserved a snapshot of how language, social status, and the natural world intersected in medieval England. You can read the original 1486 facsimile and see exactly how these terms appeared to medieval readers. 

If you enjoyed this post and want to keep learning fun facts about animals, try our post about animals that use tools, or fun facts about extreme animials.