List of animal names

"Young animal" redirects here. For other uses, see Young Animal. For names applied to people, see Animal epithet.

In the English language, many animals have different names depending on whether they are male, female, young, domesticated, or in groups.

Mother sea otter with sleeping pup, Morro Bay, California

The best-known source of many English words used for collective groupings of animals is The Book of Saint Albans, an essay on hunting published in 1486 and attributed to Juliana Berners.^[1] Most terms used here may be found in common dictionaries and general information web sites.^[2][3][4]

Contents

• Generic terms
• Terms by species or taxon
  

• A
• B
• C
• D
• E
• F
• G
• H
• I
• J
• K
• L
• M
• N
• O
• P
• Q
• R
• S
• T
• U
• V
• W
• X
• Y
• Z

• Usage of collective nouns
• Notes
• Further reading
• External links

Generic terms

The terms in this table apply to many or all taxa in a particular biological family, class, or clade.

Scientific term	Trivial name	Young	Female	Male	Collective noun	Collateral adjective
Aves	bird	chick	hen	cock, rooster	flock	avian
Bovinae	cattle; ox,[5] cow, kine (plural, dialectical)	calf	cow (bred); heifer (not bred)	bull (intact); bullock[6] or steer (castrated)	herd	bovine
Caninae	dog	puppy, pup,[7] cub, whelp	bitch	dog	pack	canine
Cetacea	whale, dolphin, porpoise	calf	cow	bull	pod	cetacean
Equidae	horse	colt (male), filly (female), foal	jenny (asses); mare (other equids)	jack (asses); stallion (other equids); gelding (castrated horse)	herd	equine
Felidae	cat	kitten (non-big cats, such as Felis, Lynx, Puma,[8] etc.); cub (big cats, Panthera, and also Puma)	queen	tom, king	clowder (small cats); pride (big cats)	feline
Suinae	pig	piglet	sow	boar	drift, drove	porcine, suine
Procyonidae	Raccoon family of Carnivorans	cub, kit			gaze, smack, committee	procyonid, procyonine
Viverridae	Civet family of Carnivorans					viverrid, viverrine
Mustelidae	Ferret family of Carnivorans (large: badgers & wolverines; small: weasels & ferrets)	kit	sow (large); jill (small)	boar (large); hob,[9] jack (small)	colony (large); business (small)	mustelid, musteline
Leporidae	rabbits & hares	nestling	jill	jack	nest or band	leporid, leporine
Osteichthyes	bony fish	hatchling, fry, fingerling	—	—	school, shoal	piscine, ichthyic

Terms by species or taxon

Animal	Young	Female	Male	Collective noun	Collateral adjective	Culinary noun for meat
A
Albatross	chick	—	—	flock[10] gam (when searching for mates)[11] rookery[12]	diomedeid diomedeine
Alligator	hatchling	cow	bull	congregation[13]	alligatorid alligatorine
Alpaca[14]	cria	hembra	macho	herd	camelid
Ant	larva pupa	queen (fertile) soldier worker	drone	army[15] bike[15] colony[15][16] bivouac (migratory feeders) nest[13] swarm[15]	formicid formicine
Antelope	calf[17]	doe	buck	cluster[15][18] herd[15][18] tribe[15][18]	antilopine
Ape	baby child infant	—	—	band family group shrewdness[2][13][18][19] troop, group[13][15][18]	simian
Armadillo	baby pup	sow	boar	protection[2]	cingulatan chlamyphorid chlamyphorine dasypodid dasypodine
Ass/donkey	foal	jenny	jack	coffle[15][18] drove[13][15][18] herd[15] pace[15][16][18]	asinine
B
Baboon	infant	babuina[20]	—	flange[21][a] troop, group[2][13][21]	—
Badger	cub kit	sow	boar	cete[2][13][16][21] colony[21]	mustelid musteline
Bat	pup	—	—	camp[22] cloud[21][23] colony[16][21] flock[24]	vespertilionid vespertilionine
Bear (list)	cub[25]	she-bear sow	boar	sleuth[13][16][21] sloth[13][16][21]	ursid ursine
Beaver	kit kitten pup	—	—	colony[13][21] family[13]	castorid castorine
Bee	larva pupa	queen worker[b]	drone	cast (a second swarm)[21] cluster (of workers around the queen)[21] colony[21] drift[2][21] erst[2][21] grist[13][21] hive[2][13][21] nest[13] rabble[21] stand[21] swarm[2][13][21]	anthophilan apid apine
Beetle	larva grub (wormlike forms)[3][4] mealworm (darkling beetles)[3][4] pupa	—	—	swarm[26]	scarabaeid scarabaeine
Binturong	binlet	—	—	—	potosine
Boar/wild pig Also see Pig	farrow piglet shoat/shote (just weaned)	sow	boar hog	herd[21][27] singular[13][27] sounder (groups of 12 or more)[13][27]	—
Bobcat	bobkitten	—	—	—	feline
Bull See Cattle
Butterfly	caterpillar chrysalis larva pupa	—	—	flight[21] flutter[13][28] kaleidoscope[29] rabble[21] swarm[30]	papilionine
C
Camel	calf	cow	bull	caravan[13] flock[13] herd train[13]	camelid cameline
Cardinal				college conclave deeck radiance Vatican [31]	cardinalid cardinaline
Cat (list)	kit kitten	molly queen	gib (castrated male)[32] king tom	clowder[2][13] cluster[13] clutter[33] glaring[2][13] kindle (kittens)[34] litter (kittens) pillow (kittens) pounce[13] nuisance[35]	feline
Cattle[c] (list)	calf[36]	cow[37] heifer freemartin	bull bullock ox steer	drove[13] gang[13][16][21] herd[13][16][21] obstinancy[13][16][21] team (oxen) troop[13] yoke (oxen)	bovine[d] taurine (male) vaccine (female) vituline (young)	beef veal
Cheetah	cub kitten	—	—	coalition (male)[38]	feline
Chicken (list)	chick	hen pullet	capon (castrated male) cock cockerel rooster	brood[13] clutch (eggs) flock peep (chicks)[13]	galline	poultry
Chimpanzee	infant	empress	emperor blackback	troop, group tribe	simian
Chinchilla	kit	sow velvet	boar bull	colony	chinchillid chinchilline
Chough	chick	—	—	chattering[2][19][39] clattering[2][19][40]	pyrrhocoracine
Cobra	—	—	—	quiver[41]	elapid elapine
Cockroach	nymph	—	—	intrusion[41]	blattodean blattid blattine
Cod	codling	—	—	school	gadid gadine
Cormorant	chick shaglet	—	—	flight gulp[13][16][41]	phalacrocoracid phalacrocoracine
Cow See Cattle
Crab	zoea	hen jenny	cock jimmy	—	brachyuran cancrine
Crane	chick colt[42]	—	—	herd[43][44][45] sedge[16] sege[46] siege[47]	alectorid alectorine
Crocodile	hatchling	cow	bull	bask[13] congregation float[13] menace	crocodilian suchian
Crow	—	—	—	murder[2][13]	corvine
D
Deer	calf[17] fawn	doe hind cow	buck bull[17] hart (red deer) stag	bunch[48] herd[48] mob[48] rangale[48]	cervid cervine	humble (organ meat) venison
Dog (list)	pup[7] puppy whelp[49]	bitch	dog sire stud	comedy (boxers)[50][51] cowardice (curs)[16][52] cry (hounds)[53] kennel[48] litter (young)[54] mute[16] pack (wild)[16][48]	canid canine
Dogfish Also see Shark	—	—	—	troop[48]	selachian squaloid	capeshark (US) flake (UK, Australia) huss (UK) kahada (Canada)[55] rigg (UK) rock salmon (UK) spiny dogfish
Dolphin	calf	cow	bull	herd pod[56][57] school[48] team[48]	delphine
Donkey (list) See Ass
Dove	chick	hen	cock	arc[13] cote dole[2][48] dule[13][48] flight[2][13][48] piteousness[2][48] pitying[13]	columbid columbine
Duck (list) Also see Mallard	duckling	duck hen	cock drake	badling (on land)[16] brace (on land)[16] bunch (on water)[2][48] flock (on land) herd (on land) paddling (on water)[2][48] raft (on water)[2][48] safe (on land)[2] skein (in flight)[48] sord (on land)[48] sore (on land)[48] string (in flight)[48] team (in flight)[16][48] waddling (on land)[48]	anatid anatine	poultry
Dunlin	chick	—	—	fling[2]	scolopacid scolopacine
E
Eagle	eaglet fledgling	—	—	convocation[13][16]	aquiline accipitrid accipitrine
Echidna	puggle	—	—	—	tachyglossid tachyglossine
Eel	leptocephalus (larva) elver (juvenile)	—	—	bed[13] swarm[13]	anguillid anguilline
Elephant	calf[36]	cow[37]	bull[58]	herd memory[13] parade[22]	pachyderm elephantid elephantine proboscidean proboscine
Elk/wapiti	calf[17]	cow[17]	bull[17]	gang[13] herd[13]	cervid cervine	venison
Emu	chick hatchling	—	—	mob[13]	—
F
Falcon	eyass/eyas	falcon	tercel terzel tiercel	cast[22]	falconid falconine
Ferret	kit	jill	hob	business[13][16] busyness[19]	mustelid musteline
Finch	chick	hen	cock	charm[16]	fringilline
Flamingo	chick	—	—	flamboyance[59] stand[22]	phoenicopterid phoenicopterine
Fly	maggot	—	—	business[13] cloud[13] swarm[13]	muscid muscine
Fox	cub[25] kit pup[7]	vixen	dog reynard tod	leash[13][16] skulk[13][16] earth[16]	vulpine
Frog	froglet polliwog tadpole	—	—	army[16]	ranid ranine
G
Gecko	hatchling	dam (herpetoculture)	sire (herpetoculture)	—	—
Gerbil	pup	doe	buck	horde	gerbilline
Giant panda	cub	sow	boar	embarrassment [60] sleuth[61]	ailuropodid ailuropodine
Giraffe	calf	cow	bull	corps[62] herd tower[62][63]	giraffid giraffine
Gnat	larva	—	—	cloud[13][16][62] horde[13][16][62] rabble[62] swarm[13][62]	—
Gnu	calf	cow	bull	herd implausibility[64]	—
Goat (list)	kid	doe doeling nanny	billy buck buckling wether (castrated)	herd flock[62] tribe[62] trip[62] trippe[62]	caprid caprine	cabrito chevon mutton
Goldfinch	—	—	—	charm[62]	cardueline
Goosander	—	—	—	dopping[62]	—
Goose	gosling	goose	gander	chevron (in flight)[citation needed] flock (on land) gaggle (on land)[16][62] plump (on land)[62] skein (in flight)[2][16][62] team (in flight)[2][62] wedge (in flight)[2][62]	anatid anatine anserine	poultry
Gorilla	infant	—	blackback silverback	band[13][16][62] troop, group[13] whoop[62]	simian
Goshawk	—	—	—	flight[19][62]	—
Grasshopper	nymph	—	—	cloud[62] swarm[62]	caeliferian
Grouse	—	—	—	covey[62] pack[62]	tetraonid tetraonine
Guanaco	chulengo[65]	—	—	herd	camelid cameline
Guinea fowl	keet	hen	cock	flock[66] rasp[67]	numidid numidine	poultry
Guinea pig	pup	sow	boar	herd	—	cuy
H
Hamster	pup	doe	buck	horde	cricetid cricetine
Hare	leveret	doe jill	buck jack	band down[68] drove[68] flick[68] husk[68]	leporine
Hawk	eyas	hen	tiercel	aerie[69][e] boil (soaring in large groups)[16][69] cast[69][f] cauldron (soaring in large groups)[69] flight[69][g] flock[69] kettle (soaring in large groups)[13][69] leash[69][h] staff[69][i]	accipitrine
Hedgehog	hoglet piglet pup	sow	boar	array[68]	erinaceine
Heron	chick	hen	cock	flight[68] sedge[13][16][68] sege[46][68] siege[13][16][47][68]	ardeid ardeine
Herring	—	—	—	army[16][68] glean[68] shoal[68]	clupeid clupeine
Hippopotamus	calf	cow	bull	bloat[13][16][68] herd[68] sea[13][16][68] thunder[41]	hippopotamid hippopotamine
Hornet	larva pupa	queen	drone	bike[68] nest[16] swarm	vespid vespine
Horse (list)	colt (male) filly (female) foal weanling yearling	dam mare	gelding (castrated male) ridgling stallion (not castrated) stud	band (wild horses)[13] field (racehorses) harras[16] herd (wild horses)[13] rag (colts)[16] stable[13] string (ponies)[16] stud[16] team (work horses)[13][16]	caballine equid equine	horseflesh horsemeat
Human	baby boy (male) child girl (female) infant	lady (colloquial) woman	gentleman (colloquial) man	band clan crowd family group horde tribe	human simian	“long pig” the flesh that speaks
Hyena	cub	—	—	cackle[13][16] clan	hyenid hyenine
J
Jaguar	cub	—	—	leap[70] parade[22] prowl[70]	—
Jay	chick	hen	cock	band[13] party[16] scold[16]	corvid corvine
Jellyfish	ephyra[71] planula polyp	—	—	bloom brood[13] fluther[2] smack[2][16] smuth[12]	medusozoan
Junglefowl (see chicken)
K
Kangaroo	joey	doe flyer jill roo	boomer buck jack	court herd mob[72] troop[16]	macropodine
Kingbird	chick	—	—	court tyranny coronation	—
Kinkajou	kit pup	sow	boar	convergence troop	potosine
Koala	joey	doe	buck	—	phascolarctid phascolarctine
L
Ladybug	larva	—	—	loveliness	coccinellid coccinelline
Lapwing	chick	—	—	deceit[16][19] desert[2]	vanelline
Lark	chick	hen	cock	exaltation[2][19]	alaudine
Lemur	infant	—	—	conspiracy[73]	lemurine
Leopard	cub	leopardess	—	leap[2][13][16] lepe[2]	leopardine
Lion	cub[25]	lioness	—	pride[74][75][44] sawt[44][76]	leonine
Lizard	hatchling	—	—	—	—
Llama	cria	dam hembra	macho stud	flock herd	camelid
Lobster	—	hen[3]	cock[3]	risk	nephropoid nephropid nephropine
Locust (list)	nymph	—	—	cloud host swarm	caeliferan
Lyrebird	chick	hen	cock	musket[77]	menurine
M
Mallard Also see Duck	duckling	hen	greenhead[78]	sord[2] suit[2]	anatid anatine	poultry
Meerkat	meerkitten	—	—	—	herpestine
Mole	pup	sow	boar	labor[22]	talpine
Mongoose	pup	—	—	committee delegation troop	hespertid herpestine
Monkey	infant	—	—	group, troop[2]	simian
Moose	calf[17]	cow[17]	bull[17][58]	herd	alceine	venison
Mosquito	nymph tumbler wriggler	—	—	cloud scourge swarm	culicid culicine
Moth	caterpillar chrysalis larva pupa	—	—	eclipse[22] swarm[22]	lepidopteran
Mouse	pup	doe	buck	colony nest	murid murine
N
Narwhal	calf[79]	cow[79]	bull[79]	pod[79] herd[79] school[79] gam[79] grind[79]	cetacean[80] cetaceous[80] monodontid monodontine
Newt	eft[81]	—	—	—	pleurodeline
Nightingale	chick	hen	cock	watch[43][44][45]	philomelian
O
Octopus	paralarva	—	—	shoal	octopodid octopodine
Opossum	joey	jill	jack	passel[82]	didelphid didelphine
Otter	pup whelp	sow	boar	family[22] romp	lutrine
Ox See Cattle
Owl	fledgling owlet	—	—	parliament[13]	strigid strigine
Oyster	spat	—	—	bed[13]	ostreoid ostreid ostreine
P
Panther	cub	pantheress	—	—	pantherine
Panda See Giant panda
Partridge	chick	chantelle hen	cock	covey roost	pavonine phasianine rolluline
Peafowl	chick peachick	peahen	peacock	ostentation	pavonine	poultry
Peccary	—	—	—	squadron[83]	—
Pelican	chick nestling	—	—	pod[13] scoop	pelecanid pelecanine
Penguin	chick nestling	—	—	colony[84] huddle[84] raft (in water)[84] rookery[84] tuxedo[12] waddle (on land)[84][85]	spheniscid spheniscine
Pheasant	chick	hen	cock	bouquet[13][16] flock nest[16] nide[16] nye[13][16]	phasianid phasianine
Pig (list) Also see Boar	farrow piglet shoat/shote (just weaned)	gilt (not bred)[86] sow (bred)	barrow (castrated)[87][88] boar hog	drift[13][16][89] drove[13][16] litter (piglets) sounder (older pigs)[22] team (older pigs)[22]	porcine suine	bacon ham pork
Pigeon (list)	squab squeaker	hen	cock	flight[90] flock kit[90]	columbid columbine	squab
Platypus	—	—	—	paddle[91]	ornithorhynchid ornithorhynchine
Polar bear	cub	sow	boar	aurora[92] celebration[92] pack[92]	ursid ursine
Pony See Horse
Porcupine	pup, porcupette[93]	sow	boar	prickle[90]	hystricine hystricid erethizontid erethizontine[94]
Prairie dog	pup	sow	boar	town	cynomurid cynomurine
Pug	pup	bitch	dog sire stud	grumble[95]	—
Q
Quail	chick	hen	cock	bevy[74][75][43][44][45]	phasianid phasianine
R
Rabbit (list)	bunny kit kitten nestling	doe jill	buck jack yoyo	litter (young) nest[75] warren wrack (young)	leporid leporine
Raccoon	cub kit	sow	boar	brace committee gaze[74] nursery smack troop	procyonid procyonine
Ram Also see Sheep	lamb	ewe	ram	flock	arietine ovine	lamb mutton
Rat (list)	kitten[citation needed] pup	doe	buck	colony horde mischief[96][97]	murid murine
Raven	chick	hen	cock	conspiracy unkindness[43][44][98]	corvid corvine
Rhinoceros	calf	cow	bull	crash[99] herd	rhinocerotid rhinocerotine
Rook	—	—	—	building[2] parliament[2][100]	—
S
Salamander	larva	—	—	maelstrom	caudatan salamandrid salamandrine
Salmon	parr[101]	hen jen	cock jack	—	salmonine
Sand dollar	juvenile (young urchin) larva pluteus (free-swimming stage)	—	—	—	clypeasteroid clypeasterid clypeasterine
Sandpiper	—	—	—	fling[102]	scolopacid scolopacine
Sardine	—	—	—	family [102]	—
Seahorse	seafoal	seamare	seastallion	shoal	hippocampine
Seal	pup[7]	cow	bull	herd[102] pod[102] rookery[102]	pinnipedian phocid phocine
Sea otter	pup	—	—	raft	lutrine
Shark	cub[25] pup[103]	—	bull	shiver [60]	selachian squaloid	flake (AUS)
Sheep (list) Also see Ram	cosset lamb lambkin	dam ewe	buck ram wether (castrated)	flock[74][75] fold[104] herd	ovine	hogget lamb mutton
Skunk	kit	sow	boar[3]	surfeit	mephitid mephitine
Snail	—	—	—	escargatoire[102][105] rout[102][106] walk[102]	gastropodine	escargot
Snake (list)	hatchling (newly hatched) neonate (newborn) snakelet	—	—	ball nest[75] slither	anguine elapine ophidian serpentine viperine
Spider (list)	spiderling	—	—	cluster[102] clutter[102]	arachnid
Spoonbill	chick	—	—	bowl	plataleine
Squid	paralarva	—	—	shoal	teuthine
Squirrel	kit kitten pup	doe	buck	scurry[41]	sciurid sciurine
Starfish	bipinnaria brachiolaria	—	—	—	asteroid galaxy[107]
Starling	—	—	—	chattering[13][39] murmuration[2][13][16][19]	sturnid sturnine
Stingray	pup	—	—	fever[108]	myliobatoid
Swan	cygnet flapper	pen	cob	bevy[22] flock lamentation wedge (in flight)[22]	cygnine
T
Termite	larva	—	—	colony nest swarm	termitid termitine
Thrush	chick	—	—	—	turdid turdine
Tiger	cub[25] whelp	tigress	—	ambush[13] streak[41]	tigrine
Toad	tadpole toadlet	—	—	knot[13][16]	batrachian ranid ranine
Toucan	chick	—	—	durante	ramphastid ramphastine
Turkey (list)	poult	hen	gobbler jake (immature) stag tom	rafter[109][110]	—	poultry
Turtle	hatchling turtlet	—	—	bale[111]	testudine chelonian
V
Viper	hatchling	—	—	—	viperine
W
Wallaby	joey	jill	jack	mob	—
Wasp	larva	queen worker	drone	colony hive nest swarm	vespine
Weasel	kit pup	bitch doe jill	buck dog hub jack	gang[18] sneak[18]	mustelid musteline
Whale	calf[36]	cow[37]	bull	gam[22] pod[74][75] school	cetacean balaenine	blubber
Wildebeest	calf[36]	cow[37]	bull	confusion	connochaetine
Wolf	cub pup[7] puppy whelp	bitch she-wolf	dog	pack[74][75]	canine lupine
Wombat	joey	jill	jack	wisdom[112]	vombatid vombatine
Z
Zebra	colt (male) filly (female) foal	mare	stallion	cohort[113] dazzle[114] herd[13][113] zeal[13][113]	hippotigrine zebrine

Usage of collective nouns

Merriam-Webster writes that most terms of venery fell out of use in the 16th century, including a "murder" for crows. It goes on to say that some of the terms in The Book of Saint Albans were "rather fanciful", explaining that the book extended collective nouns to people of specific professions, such as a "poverty" of pipers. It concludes that for lexicographers, many of these do not satisfy criteria for entry by being "used consistently in running prose" without meriting explanation. Some terms that were listed as commonly used were "herd", "flock", "school", and "swarm".^[115]

Writing for Audubon, Nicholas Lund says that many such terms are not used in actuality. When he interviewed scientists who specialize in studying specific animals, they had not heard of these terms, such as a "bask" of crocodiles or "wisdom" of wombats, being applied in their fields. Lund noted that the common plural nouns for animals were "flock" for birds and "herd" for cows, conceding that for certain animals in small groups, there was currency in usage such as a "pod" of whales or "gaggle" of geese.^[116]

See also

• Animal epithet
• Lists of animals
• List of animal sounds
• wikt:Appendix:Animals, a similar list on English Wiktionary

Notes

1. The term flange was originally used to denote a group of baboons in a Not the Nine O'Clock News comedy sketch entitled "Gerald the Intelligent Gorilla" where it was used for comic effect.^{[citation needed]}
2. A worker bee is a sexually undeveloped female.
3. Castrated male cattle are steers in the United States or bullocks in the United Kingdom. Oxen are draft animals that are (if male) usually castrated but not necessarily. A young cow that has not given birth is a heifer. See Cattle for more names. Cows is often used informally to refer to cattle in general.
4. Bovine refers to all species of genus Bos.
5. The term aerie is a classic 15th-century term of venery that refers to only two "hawks of the tower" but, in modern usage, does not necessarily have the same numerical constraint.^[69] Aerie also refers to hawks and other birds of prey nesting high on a mountain top.^[69] Confusingly, hawks of the tower are technically falcons and not hawks.
6. The term cast is a classic 15th-century term of venery that refers to only two "hawks of the tower" but, in modern usage, does not necessarily have the same numerical constraint.^[69] Confusingly, hawks of the tower are technically falcons and not hawks.
7. The term flight is a classic 15th-century term of venery that refers to only "hawks of the wrist" to include goshawks and sparrowhawks.^[69] Hawks of the wrist are true hawks in the genus Accipiter.
8. The term leash is a classic 15th-century term of venery that refers to only three "hawks of the tower" but, in modern usage, does not necessarily have the same numerical constraint.^[69] Confusingly, hawks of the tower are technically falcons and not hawks.
9. The term staff is a classic 15th-century term of venery that refers to only three "hawks of the tower" but, in modern usage, does not necessarily have the same numerical constraint.^[69] Confusingly, hawks of the tower are technically falcons and not hawks.