[Ravensfort] Where to meet for Natives (non SCA stuff)

HerrDetlef at aol.com HerrDetlef at aol.com
Fri Oct 12 07:17:12 PDT 2007


 
 
In a message dated 10/11/2007 7:48:17 PM Central Daylight Time, 
byzytym at charter.net writes:

What do they call it when Ravens gather ??

A Flock of Ravens.........we could starch our hair to make it stand up on the 
sides LOL
 
I'm not really sure what "they" call it when Raven's gather......Wikipedia 
says:
 
An obsolete _collective noun_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collective_noun)  
for a group of ravens (or at least the Common Raven) is an "unkindness". 
_[3]_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raven#_note-1) 
 
 
Group Names for Birds: A Partial List
By Terry Ross _tross at bcpl.net_ (mailto:tross at bcpl.net) 
A bevy of quail

A bouquet of pheasants [when flushed]

A brood of hens

A building of rooks

A cast of hawks [or falcons]

A charm of finches

A colony of penguins

A company of parrots

A congregation of plovers

A cover of coots

A covey of partridges [or grouse or ptarmigans]

A deceit of lapwings

A descent of woodpeckers

A dissimulation of birds

A dole of doves

An exaltation of larks

A fall of woodcocks

A flight of swallows [or doves, goshawks, or cormorants]

A gaggle of geese [wild or domesticated]

A host of sparrows

A kettle of hawks [riding a thermal]

A murmuration of starlings

A murder of crows

A muster of storks

A nye of pheasants [on the ground]

An ostentation of peacocks

A paddling of ducks [on the water]

A parliament of owls

A party of jays

A peep of chickens

A pitying of turtledoves

A raft of ducks

A rafter of turkeys

A siege of herons

A skein of geese [in flight]

A sord of mallards

A spring of teal

A tidings of magpies

A trip of dotterel

An unkindness of ravens

A watch of nightingales

A wedge of swans [or geese, flying in a "V"]

A wisp of snipe

Any of these group names may properly be used by birders who wish to display 
their erudition, although it is probably linguistically inaccurate (and it 
certainly is bad manners) to upbraid someone who refers to "a bunch of ravens" by 
saying, "Surely you mean `an unkindness of ravens,' my good fellow." Most of 
these terms date back at least 500 years. Some of them have been in continuous 
use since then; others have gone out of fashion and been resurrected in the 
last century or two; still others only exist on lists.  
Most of these terms are listed in James Lipton's An Exaltation of Larks. 
Lipton's list is substantially based on very old sources. There were manuscript 
lists of group names in the 15th century, and these lists appeared in some of 
the first books printed in England. Many of them make their first appearance in 
John Lydgate's Debate between the Horse, Goose, and Sheep (1440); and 
Lydgate's terms along with others appear in The Book of Hawking and Hunting (also 
known as The Book of St. Albans) by Dame Juliana Barnes (1486). Whether Lydgate 
and Barnes coined any of these terms, or whether they were setting down the 
terms that were considered proper in their day is not known. Many of the terms did 
catch on, and the lists they appeared on were frequently reprinted.  
The best source I know for investigating the histories of English words is 
the Oxford English Dictionary. Unfortunately, on the question whether these 
terms ever were or still are appropriate, the OED is not entirely helpful. To make 
sense of the matter, I have placed the group names into groups-- 
GROUP A--The following group names are standard:

                                A bevy of quail

                                A bouquet of pheasants      

                                A brood of hens

                                A cast of hawks

                                A charm of finches

                                A covey of partridges

                                A flight of swallows

                                A gaggle of geese

                                A nye of pheasants

                                A siege of herons

                                A skein of geese

                                A trip of dotterel

                                A wisp of snipe



GROUP B--These terms are not group names for a particular type of bird,

but have been commonly used for many different types: 

                                Colony

                                Company

                                Flock

                                Parliament

                                Party



GROUP C--These terms are archaic; they were once obsolete, but they have 

been revived somewhat in the 19th or 20th centuries:

                                A building of rooks

                                A murmuration of starlings

                                A muster of peacocks

                                A peep of chickens

                                A sord of mallards

                                A spring of teal

                                A watch of nightingales



GROUP D--These terms are obsolete; they appeared on the old lists, but

almost nobody has used them in centuries: 

                                A congregation of plovers

                                A dissimulation of birds

                                A dole of doves

                                A fall of woodcock

                                A host of sparrows

                                A paddling of ducks

                                An unkindness of ravens



GROUP E--These terms are not in the OED at all as group names for birds:

                                A cover of coots

                                A kettle of hawks

                                A murder of crows

                                An ostentation of peacocks

                                A pitying of turtledoves

                                A rafter of turkeys

                                A tidings of magpies

My categories are imprecise, but they provide some guidance about usage. Have 
no qualms about using any of the terms in group A; use the terms in group B 
for any group of birds that seems apt; use the terms in groups C and D only if 
you don't mind being thought pedantic or literary; avoid the terms in group E 
unless you know something the OED doesn't.  
Alas, the OED itself is not totally reliable: the word "kettle" (as both a 
noun and a verb) has been used by hawk watchers for many years, and it has often 
appeared in print; the OED editors obviously are not birders. It may well be 
that the other terms in group E appear on the 15th-century lists and were 
simply missed.  
Thanks to the following for their suggestions and contributions: Bruce 
Helmboldt, Stephan L. Moss, Pete Janzen, Macklin Smith, Billie Jo Johnstone, Richard 
Danca, Gail Mackiernan, Alice Rasa.  
Review the _correspondence_ (http://baltimorebirdclub.org/gnchat.html)  on 
this matter from BirdChat.
View a list of _whimsical group names_ 
(http://baltimorebirdclub.org/gnwhimsy.html)  submitted by chatters.
Visit the _Baltimore Bird Club_ (http://baltimorebirdclub.org/)  Home Page.  
If you're interested in group names for creatures other than birds, here are 
links to such lists:  
    *   The Fairfax County (Virginia) Library's _Group Names_ 
(http://www.co.fairfax.va.us/library/homework/faq/animal.htm)   
    *   David Featherston's _Collective Nouns: A (re-)collection._ 
(http://biobase.dk/Embnetut/Personal/venereal.html)  by  
    *   Mark Hesenflow's _Collective terms - Animals_ 
(http://www.opus1.com/~ace/collect.html)   
    *   Melissa Kaplan's list of _Collective Nouns_ 
(http://www.sonic.net/~melissk/beastly.html#Nouns)   
    *   From Australia, Nudge's _Group Terms_ 
(http://www.interline.com.au/~nudge/GroupTerms.html)   
    *   Neil Taylor's _Birds in Numbers_ 
(http://www.sentex.net/~tntcomm/kwfn/numbers.htm)  
Send comments or suggestions to me at _tross at bcpl.net_ 
(mailto:tross at bcpl.net)   

 
 


Indicabo tibi, o homo, quid sit bonum 
et quid Dominus requirat a te, 
utique facere iudicium, 
et diligere misericordiam, 
et solicitum ambulare cum Deo tuo. 
Micah 6:8






















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