a murmuration of starlings
Collective nouns are nouns which refer to a group or collection of people, animals, or things.
They’re followed by either a singular verb or a plural verb.
The use of a plural verb is more common/more acceptable in British/UK English.
And the use of the singular verb form is more common/more acceptable in the US.
For example:
The audience were delighted with the performance. (plural/UK)
The audience was delighted with the performance. (singular/US)
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Common collective nouns
People
a government of politicians (‘government’ is the collective noun)
an army of soldiers (‘army’ is the collective noun)
a troupe of acrobats
a panel of experts
a crowd of people
a team of players
a choir of singers
a crew of sailors
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Inanimate objects/things
a flight of steps
a flight of stairs/steps
a block of flats
a row of houses
a fleet of cars
a pack of cards
a bunch of keys
a bunch of bananas
Animals
a pride of lions
a flock of birds
a flock of sheep
a swarm of bees
a clutch of eggs
a herd of cows/deer/elephants etc.
a gaggle of geese
a pack of dogs
a litter of kittens
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These four wonderful collective nouns refer to groups of birds…
a murmuration of starlings
a murder of crows
a parliament of rooks (or owls)
and an unkindness of ravens
The great thing about collective nouns is that you can have some fun with them. Here are a few light-hearted and humorous collective nouns of uncertain provenance… š
an aroma of bakers
a mischief of mice
a scamper of children
a shiver of sharks
a kneeling of parishioners
a flap of nuns
a saunter of cowboys
a dampness of babies
a wiggle of wenches
a wobble of bicycles
an orchestra of crickets
and a happiness of larks
You can find more examples of real and fanciful collective nouns at collectivenouns.net
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I’ll leave you with this beautiful murmuration of starlings, filmed by Dylan Winter…
Hi Angela,
Thank you for your interesting post, you explained it so clearly, as usual š
I love murmuration of starlings. It is one of my things on my list I really want to see. I have seen mini ones, but would love to see a giant murmuration š
Anita recently posted..Forever Father
Hi Anita š
I love murmurations too. I have seen some big ones a couple of times here in Cornwall, and smaller but equally beautiful ones not far from where I live – they have a favourite spot near the road where they all like to congregate and I sometimes see them in big swooping flocks as I drive by. Very distracting – one day I’ll probably drive into the hedge š
Hi Angela,
Sounds lovely, becareful while you are driving š
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