A while back, a local woman alerted me to a lot of ibises nesting in some trees in our county. And by a lot, I mean thousands. She called it a “rookery.”
As a self-proclaimed expert in English, I then assumed that a rookery was the collective noun used to describe a group of ibises. Boy, I were wrong.
A rookery is a colony of breeding animals, generally birds. A grouping of ibises is either a “congregation,” “a stand,” or a “wedge.”
I found this out by researching collective nouns associated with animals, and was startled by my ignorance. Regular reader(s) of this column probably weren’t.
For instance, for years, I had referred to a group of gerbils as a “bunch of gerbils.” I was way off. The proper term is “horde of gerbils” (which sounds much more intimidating).
The more correct animal collective nouns I learned, the more dumbish I felted.
In an effort to feel better about my intellect, I have concocted an animal collective noun quiz for my readers. At the end are the correct answers (no cheating, please).
I wish you nothing but failure.
Below, choose the proper collective name for each group of animals: A. A planet of apes.
B. A shrewdness of apes. C. A mute of apes.
2. Hummingbirds.
A. A charm of hummingbirds. B. An aerie of hummingbirds. C. A gam of hummingbirds.
3. Hens.
A. A cackle of hens.
B. A brood of hens.
C. A plump of hens.
4. Jellyfish.
A. A smack of jellyfish.
B. A generation of jellyfish. C. A mischief of jellyfish.
5. Camels.
A. A company of camels. B. A flock of camels.
C. A kindle of camels.
6. Rattlesnakes.
A. A chine of rattlesnakes. B. A weyr of rattlesnakes.
C. A rhumba of rattlesnakes.
7. Starlings.
A. A school of starlings.
B. A murmuration of starlings. C. A covey of starlings.
8. Goldfish.
A. A glint of goldfish.
B. An aqua of goldfish.
C. A charlatan of goldfish.
9. Emus.
A. A spit of emus.
B. A mob of emus.
C. A skein of emus.
10. Lizards.
A. A lounge of lizards. B. A clan of lizards.
C. A leap of lizards.
11. Woodpeckers.
A. A rookery of woodpeckers. B. A descent of woodpeckers. C. A bloat of woodpeckers.
12. Tigers.
A. A tyranny of tigers.
B. An ambush of tigers. C. A courage of tigers.
13. Buzzards.
A. A bait of buzzards.
B. A gut of buzzards.
C. A wake of buzzards.
14. Chimpanzees.
A. A cartload of chimpanzees. B. A buttload of chimpanzees. C. A romp of chimpanzees.
15. Crows.
A. A murder of crows.
B. A storytelling of crows. C. A flock of crows.
Correct answers:
1.: B. A shrewdness of apes.
2.: A. A charm of hummingbirds.
3.: B. A brood of hens.
4.: A. A smack of jellyfish.
5.: B. A flock of camels.
6.: C. A rhumba of rattlesnakes. 7.: B. A murmuration of starlings.
8.: A. A glint of goldfish.
9.: B. A mob of emus.
10.: A. A lounge of lizards.
11.: B. A descent of woodpeckers.
12.: B. An ambush of tigers.
13.: C. A wake of buzzards.
14.: A. A cartload of chimpanzees.
15.: Here’s where I got tricky. The correct answer is both A. A murder of crows; and B. A storytelling of crows.
And I’m not telling a story.
If you got at least three correct — congratulations! You’re smarter than a dummy of newspaper columnists.
• Len Robbins is the editor of The Clinch County News. He can be reached at lrobbins@clinchcounty news
