A convocation of eagles

A parliament of owls? A clowder of cats? When two or more animals of the same species congregate, it can be quite a 'romp.'

By Robert Klose

from the March 26, 2007 edition

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Just the other morning, while working at the computer, my 10-year-old son and I stumbled upon a website listing collective names for animals. Anton's response was the same as mine had been when I first discovered this peculiarity of the language as a child: He was captivated.

A brace of ducks, a gaggle of geese, a kindle of kittens, and on and on. We immediately commenced a spontaneous census of the wildlife about our house here in central Maine, in terms of collective nouns.

Recalling the male and female mallards that wandered into our yard last year, we abandoned the pedestrian "pair" for the more novel "brace."

My son, moving down the list with the enthusiasm of a hungry diner perusing a Chinese menu, called out, "And we have a scurry of squirrels in the maple trees, charms of finches at the feeder, and a gaze of raccoons along the riverbank."

"Yes," I was quick to agree, "but don't forget the piteousness of doves that picks at the seed husks under the feeders and the murder of crows that flies over the house."

Anton picked up the beat again. "It's too bad we don't have a fesnying of ferrets."

"Or," I interjected, "an unkindness of ravens. But I did see a large black otter crawl out of the river once. If there had been a couple more it would have been a romp."

Great fun!

We then went outside to see what we could see. It was too cold to expect a knot of toads, and I had little hope of spotting a skulk of foxes, solitary as these animals are. The sidearm of the Penobscot River behind our house was still frozen tight, long deserted by its siege of herons. Despite these absences, we bundled up and set out across the ice to an off-lying island to continue our animal census there.

Halfway across, Anton called out and pointed skyward. I immediately saw it: a bald eagle in flight, its white head and tail clearly visible against the cold, stark blue.

"Let's follow it," I said. "It'll be a good workout."

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