List of animal names facts for kids

In the English language, many animals have different names depending on if they are a boy, a girl, a baby, or part of a group.

The idea of using special names for groups of animals, like a "flock" of birds, became popular from a book called The Book of Saint Albans. This book was about hunting and was published way back in 1486! While many of these old terms are still around, some are not used much today.

Common Animal Names

This section lists general names for different types of animals, like birds or dogs.

Names for Specific Animals

Here are more specific names for different animals.

Are These Names Really Used?

You might be surprised to learn that many of these special group names for animals are not used very often today. For example, the old term "murder" for a group of crows is not common anymore.

Experts who study animals, called scientists, often say they have never heard of some of these terms being used in their work. They might not say "a bask of crocodiles" or "a wisdom of wombats."

However, some group names are still very common. You'll often hear about a "flock" of birds, a "herd" of cows, a "pod" of whales, or a "gaggle" of geese. So, while some names are just for fun or from old books, others are part of our everyday language!

See also

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

Images for kids

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  Mother sea otter with sleeping pup, Morro Bay, California