By Tony Gazso, Interpretive Naturalist
Collective nouns refer to a group of animals with their own word, such as a herd of elephants or a pride of lions. When it comes to the world of birds, the word flock probably comes to mind. And while flock can be used for any group of birds, many kinds of birds have their own collective nouns (probably the most famous is a murder of crows). Here, we take a look at seven collective nouns that you may not have heard of!
For many birders, nothing quite compares to the dazzling assortment of warblers in the springtime! These often brightly-colored neotropical visitors bring the less hardy birders out of their winter hibernation. Autumn on the other hand is quite a different story. As these birds pass back through, most of them sport less vibrant colors with a few being virtually unrecognizable compared to their springtime plumage. In fall, many warblers just look a lot alike, leading to some confusion. In fact, some field guides even have a section titled “confusing fall warblers.”
There are only three species of waxwings, two in North America and one found primarily in Japan. All of these species have a distinctive smooth look to their plumage as well as a crest and black eyemask. Waxwings are also almost entirely frugivorous, meaning that they eat almost exclusively fruit. Another thing waxwings have in common that is unique among birds are feathers on their wings that have a waxy red tip, giving them their common names. The collective noun, museum, is a reference to wax museums. Funnily enough, waxwings have a second collective noun: earful, a play on earwax!
Although there’s only one species of hummingbird in Ohio, the ruby-throated hummingbird, there are more than 300 species in the world, with around 20 found in the United States. Even with that staggering number, hummingbirds are only found in North, Central, and South America. One thing all hummingbirds have in common is their bright metallic and iridescent feathers! These tiny therapods seem to glitter in the sunlight, giving them their collective noun. Of course, you could also say they shimmer in the sunlight, which is another collective noun used for these tiny birds.
Loons are large heavy water birds. The common loon is seen regularly throughout northeast Ohio (particularly in Lake Erie) in winter and the smaller red-throated loon is an occasional visitor to the area. Five species of loon are found throughout the northern hemisphere. Loons are excellent swimmers and are able to dive more than 100 feet below the water’s surface. One of the reasons they can do this is because unlike most other birds, loons have solid bones and are therefore less buoyant. This means that they tend to only land on larger bodies of water since they need a longer “runway” to take off from. Although there are many meanings for the word loon and they have shifted over time, one definition was connected to a person who was mentally unstable. At one time it was common practice to commit anyone like this to an asylum, hence the collective noun.
Kingbirds are large flycatchers found throughout the Americas. There are a dozen species of kingbirds, with only the eastern kingbird found here in Ohio. These birds get their name from a crest on their head that is actually hidden most of the time. The collective noun, coronation, is a play on the bird’s name since kings are traditionally crowned in ceremonies of the same name.
Jays are birds in the corvid family along with ravens, crows and magpies. Most jay species are more brightly colored (often in blue) that their darker cousins. Jays are grouped into a few different genera but one thing they all have in common is a brash attitude. Jays are known to be quite boisterous and will often harass other birds, particularly birds of prey. Since they often exhibit this scolding behavior, it makes sense that their collective noun is what it is.
Grackles are large blackbirds known for their beautiful blue and purple iridescent plumage. Like most blackbird species, grackles often congregate in large groups, sometimes even roosting in colonies of hundreds of individuals. There are six species of grackle worldwide, but only three in the United States. Ohio has one species, the common grackle. Their large numbers can sometimes be an annoyance for farmers, as they love to eat corn. They are often quite loud, adding to their annoyance factor for many. Though truth be told, they’re really no more or less annoying than any other blackbird.