A collective noun is a word that has many pieces inside of it.
Yesterday we talked about collective nouns for people and things.
Today we will talk about collective nouns for animals.
Here are examples of collective nouns that we often use when we talk about animals:
a pack (of wolves or mules)
a litter (of kittens or puppies)
a swarm (of bees or wasps)
a herd (of cattle or rabbits)
a flock (of sheep)
a caravan (of camels)
a colony (of rats, ants, or weasels)
And here are some funny, unusual collective nouns for animals:
a shiver (of sharks)
a prickle (of porcupines)
a fever (of stingrays)
a pride (of lions)
a parliament (of owls)
a gaggle (of geese)
a parade (of elephants)
a knot (of toads)
a zeal (of zebras)
A collective noun names something that has many parts inside of it. We use specific collective nouns to talk about different groups of animals.