In response to a blog post, one of my friends, K-, writes:
Since you blogged about idiomatic expression, I remembered a long conversation/guessing game with B- on our drive to the beach. I was fascinated by the poetic expressions for specific groups of animals – many of those were new to me. They sounded like creations of poets sometimes:
a group of ravens = an unkindness
a group of crows = a murder
a group of tigers = a streak
a group of hippopotamuses = a bloat
a group of giraffes = a tower
a group of hyenas = a cackle
and this goes on and on [http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/about/faqs/animals/names.htm ]
I was fascinated by this since this does not work in German at all.
I tried to complete this homework by asking people, including a friend in a cafe. I started with a school of fish and a pack of wild dogs. She thought I wanted to know where I could go fishing and didn’t even want to know how the wild dogs fit into my adventure. I asked a man sitting on a bench. He tried to be helpful. Then, my search led me to a bookstore, but they only could refer me to the CHILDREN’S SECTION (because of my perceived reading level) to their collection of animal books that were shrink-wrapped.
I just sort of stood there until the twin of the guy behind the counter came back and tried to help me. He gave me the word “bandada” and told me to go from there. He even offered to write it down for me. I told him I could be trusted to remember it. He wasn’t so sure.
1. manada: lobos
2. rebaño: ovejas
3. bandada o parvada: pájaros
4. recua: mulos
5. camada: conejos
6. colonia: hormigas
7. enjambre o colonia: abejas
8. piara: cerdos
9. jauría: perros
10. piara: cerdos
11. enjambre: abejas
12. manada: elefantes
13. bandada: pájaros.
14. cardumen o banco: peces
15. banco: atunes
1. pack: wolves
2. herd: sheep
3. flock or flock: birds
4. herd: mules
5. litter: rabbits
6. colony: ants
7. swarm or colony bees
8. herd: pigs
9. pack: dogs
10. herd: pigs
11. swarm: bees
12. herd: elephants
13. flock: birds.
14. shoal or bank: fish
15. bank: tunas
Collective Nouns List
pack paquete, envase, manada, mochila, cajetilla, bulto
flock rebaño, manada, bandada, grey
pod vaina, manada, capullo, ranura, mandril
gaggle manada, bandada de gansos, grazna
drove manada, rebaño, multitud
bevy grupo, bandada, manada
herd rebaño, manada, hato, piara, multitud, tropel
pack paquete, envase, manada, mochila, cajetilla, bulto
flock rebaño, manada, bandada, grey
pod vaina, manada, capullo, ranura, mandril
gaggle manada, bandada de gansos, grazna
drove manada, rebaño, multitud
bevy grupo, bandada, manada
shewhodaresnothing 