Collective Nouns Quiz: Murders of Crows and Owl Parliaments

Many of the strangest group names come from a 1486 hunting book that listed terms for genteel speech, and this collective nouns quiz tests how many you know. Play an interactive set of 10 questions on a pride of lions, a murmuration of starlings, a crash of rhinos, a tower of giraffes, a business of ferrets, a dazzle of zebras and an unkindness of ravens.

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🎯 Daily Trivia Challenge • 🧠 10 Questions • ⏱️ 150 Seconds

Question 1 / 10 Time: 150s

Crows
What is a group of crows called?
Owls
What is a group of owls called?
Lions
What is a group of lions called?
Starlings
What is a huge swirling flock of starlings called?
Rhinos
What is a group of rhinoceroses called?
Giraffes
What is a group of standing giraffes called?
Ferrets
What is a group of ferrets called?
Zebras
What is a group of zebras sometimes called?
Ravens
Which unusual term describes a group of ravens?
Book
Which 1486 book helped popularize many of these terms?

Explanations: answer key for all 10 questions

Q1: What is a group of crows called?
Answer: A murder
The name reflects old superstitions about crows.
Q2: What is a group of owls called?
Answer: A parliament
Owls were linked with wisdom.
Q3: What is a group of lions called?
Answer: A pride
Prides are family groups led by females.
Q4: What is a huge swirling flock of starlings called?
Answer: A murmuration
Thousands of birds move as one.
Q5: What is a group of rhinoceroses called?
Answer: A crash
The name suits their charging bulk.
Q6: What is a group of standing giraffes called?
Answer: A tower
Moving giraffes can be called a journey.
Q7: What is a group of ferrets called?
Answer: A business
It may come from busyness.
Q8: What is a group of zebras sometimes called?
Answer: A dazzle
Their stripes confuse predators.
Q9: Which unusual term describes a group of ravens?
Answer: An unkindness
Ravens were seen as ill omens.
Q10: Which 1486 book helped popularize many of these terms?
Answer: The Book of St Albans
It listed terms of venery for hunters.

Collective Nouns Quiz – Murders, Parliaments and Prides

English has many colorful collective nouns for animals. A group of crows is a murder, owls form a parliament, lions a pride and starlings a murmuration when they swirl in huge flocks.

Other terms include a crash of rhinoceroses, a tower of giraffes, a business of ferrets, a dazzle of zebras and an unkindness of ravens. Some reflect behavior, some old superstitions and some simple wordplay.

Many terms come from lists of terms of venery for hunters, especially the Book of St Albans from 1486. Some were probably invented as jokes, but they have become a fun part of English.

What This Quiz Teaches

Language lovers and animal fans will enjoy these questions.

What common groups are called
Where the names come from
Which terms are unusual
Which reflect behavior
Which are mostly jokes

Did You Know?

A group of flamingos is a flamboyance.
Hippos in water can be called a bloat.
Jellyfish groups are called a smack.
A group of puffins is an improbability.
Everyday speech usually just uses flock or herd.