Collective bird nouns: A gallon of petrels?

Wild Bird News years ago (1990?) had a contest in which readers could send in their best collective bird nouns and try to win a prize. Examples given were a parliament of owls and a paddling of ducks. I learned about the contest a little late (nine years?) and they wouldn't accept my entry, so I dumped it right here in my web site. Here's my list and then some that were printed in Wild Bird News and others, too. Some of these are real collective names, some are made up. You'll have to sort them out yourself. (Lots of luck.)  (My thanks to Macklin Smith of Ann Arbor, Michigan, for calling the Bird Nouns contest to my attention.)

-- Bruce M. Bowman

my list of collective bird nouns, refused by Wild Bird News

a vulgarity of starlings
an extinction (extinctitude) of dodos
a court of kinglets
a princedom of kinglets
a swoop of swallows
a box of swifts
a circlage of martins
a swirl (twirl) of phalaropes
an eatery of seedeaters
an assemblage of solitaires
a summation of solitaires
a shake of quail
a bouquet of warblers
a bouquet of hummingbirds
a ponderance of plovers
a preponderance of baby plovers
a niddle of noddies
a sleepiness of noddies
a Waterloo of Bonaparte's Gulls
a straightness of Least Terns
a scoop of skimmers
a vortex of vultures
an invisibleness of ptarmigans
a cooch of cuckoos
a rash of thrashers
a crookedness of crossbills
a warp of crossbills
a rattle of Belted Kingfishers
a clique of Green Kingfishers
a clique of Yellow Rails
a ladle of dippers
a shiver of penguins
an ebert of siskins
a discomfiture of Wood Ducks
a daggle of ducks
a pretense of bitterns
a sagaciousness of owls
a skewer of egrets
a diacriticality of accentors
a cord of wood-warblers
a skulk of Connecticut Warblers
a scarcity of Kirtland's Warblers
a sweetness of Yellow Warblers
a silliness of anis
a whinny of soras
a fleet of frigatebirds
a scooter of scoters
a baffle of buffleheads
a dufflebag of buffleheads
a cooperation of coots
a drive of longspurs
a herd of cowbirds

from Wild Bird News (from various readers)

a parliament of owls
a paddling of ducks
a worm of robins
a contusion of Black-throated Green Warblers
a zipper of flycatchers
a dash of bitterns
a stool of pigeons
a gallon of petrels
a Rockefeller of oystercatchers
a pack of Larks
a U of terns
a marathon of roadrunners
a family of partridge
a spread of eagles

some Macklin Smith contributions to Wild Bird News

a schizophrenia of Hawk-Owls
a civilization of Inca Doves
an inferno of Lucifer Hummingbirds
a liturgy of Vesper Sparrows
an academy of Sage Sparrows
a trepidation of Yellow Warblers
a depression of Blue Grouse
a cell of Red Phalaropes
an omniscience of godwits
a prohibition of Barred Owls
a season of Killdeer
an affirmation of noddies
a tintintabulation of Bell's Vireos

some Phil Davis contributions to Wild Bird News

a revenge of Montezuma Quail
an embarrassment of Red-faced Warblers
a ReallyGoodEnergy of California Gulls
a hogey of Sandwich Terns
a grumbling of grouse
a scaffold of Ladder-backed Woodpeckers
a reel of Virginia Rails
a cushion of Pintails
a hobbling of Limpkin
a trap of boobys
a bowl of Corn Crakes
a sorority of Redheads
an embezzlement of skimmers
a wagering of Gambel's Quail
a ballet of nutcrackers
a dichotomy of Black-and-white Warblers
a sleeze of creepers
a measurement of spoonbills
a Waterloo of Bonaparte's Gulls
a meow of Mew Gulls
an illusion of Merlin
a shaving of beardless tyrannulets
a toupee of Bald Eagles
a statutory of mynas

some from Cody Burkett, Phoenix, AZ

a Vatican of cardinals
a highness of Royal Terns
a bushel of Acorn Woodpeckers
a nonexistence of Pinyon Jays
a condo of condors
a corral of cowbirds
a confusion of Empidonax flycatchers
a band of pigeons
a slurp of sapsuckers
a glittering of hummingbirds
a gulp of swallows
an invisibility of Whip-poor-wills
a board of Surfbirds
a community of coots
a construction of cranes
a swatting of flycatchers
a brief of pelicans
a flotilla of frigatebirds
an icing of penguins
a circus of puffins
a vein of goldfinches
a bunch of Olive Sparrows
a happiness of larks
a blizzard of Snowy Owls

from RinkWorks

a congregation of birds
a dissimulation of birds
a flight of birds
a flock of birds
a volery of birds
a sedge of bitterns
a siege of bitterns
a chain of bobolinks
a wake of buzzards
a brood of chickens
a flock of chickens
a peep of chickens
a brood of chicks
a chattering of chicks
a clutch of chicks
a sedge of cranes
a siege of cranes
a storytelling of crows
a murder of crows
a trip of dotterel
a bevy of doves
a cote of doves
a dole of doves
a dule of doves
a flight of doves
a piteousness of doves
a brace of ducks
a flock of ducks
a flush of ducks
a paddling of ducks
a raft of ducks
a team of ducks
an aerie of eagles
a convocation of eagles
a mob of emus
a charm of finches
a flock of geese
a gaggle of geese
a skein of geese (in flight)
a wedge of geese (flying in a 'V')
a charm of goldfinches
a covey of grouse
a pack of grouse
a colony of gulls
a brood of hens
a hedge of herons
a sedge of herons
a siege of herons
a charm of hummingbirds
a band of jays
a party of jays
a scold of jays
a deceit of lapwings
a ascension of larks
an exaltation of larks
a tidings of magpies
a sord of mallards
a watch of nightingales
a parliament of owls
a company of parrots
a covey of partridges
a muster of peacocks
an ostentation of peacocks
a colony of penguins
a crèche of penguins
a huddle of penguins
a parcel of penguins
a rookery of penguins
a nest of pheasants
a nide of pheasants (on the ground)
a nye of pheasants (on the ground)
a bouquet of pheasants (when flushed)
a flight of pigeons
a flock of pigeons
a congregation of plovers
a wing of plovers
a bevy of quail
a covey of quail
a storytelling of ravens
an unkindness of ravens
a building of rooks
a clamor of rooks
a storytelling of rooks
a walk of snipes
a wisp of snipes
a host of sparrows
a murmuration of starlings
a muster of storks
a mustering of storks
a flight of swallows
a bevy of swans
a herd of swans
a wedge of swans (flying in a 'V')
a flock of swifts
a spring of teals
a flock of turkeys
a brood of turkeys (immature)
a bale of turtles
a plump of wildfowl
a descent of woodpeckers

from Hints and Things (UK)

a flock, flight, or parcel of birds
a pod of birds (small flock)
a volary of birds (in an aviary)
a brace = a pair of gamebirds or waterfowl
a dissimulation of birds
a sedge of bitterns
a chain of bobolinks
a chatter of budgerigars
a wake of buzzards
a brood, clutch, flock, run or peep of chicken
a clutch or chattering of chicks
a chattering of choughs
a covert or cover of coots
a gulp (solitude) of cormorants
a flight of cormorants
a herd of cranes
a seige of cranes
a sedge of cranes
a murder of crows
a horde of crows
a herd of curlew
a trip of dotterel
a flight of doves
a dule of doves
a dole of doves
a pitying of turtle doves
a raft, paddling or bunch of ducks on water
a team, brace, bed, flight or flock of wild ducks in flight
a fling of dunlins
a convocation of eagles
a congregation of eagles
a mob of emus
a charm of finches
a stand of flamingoes
a flamboyance of flamingoes
a gaggle or flock of geese
a skein, team or wedge of geese (in the air)
a plump of geese (on water)
a pack of grouse
a covey of grouse
a bazaar of guillemots
a colony of gulls
a cast, kettle (flying in large numbers) or boil (two or more) of hawks
a brood of hens
a scattering of herons
a seige of herons
a sedge of herons
a party of jays
a scold of jays
a desert of lapwings
a deceit of lapwings
a bevy of larks
an exaltation of larks
an ascension of larks
a tittering of magpies
a tiding of magpies
a gulp of magpies
a murder of magpies
a charm of magpies
a sord of mallards
a watch of nightingales
a parliament of owls
a stare of owls
a wisdom of owls
a study of owls
a pandemonium of parrots
a company of parrots
a covey of partridges
a muster of peacocks
an ostentation of peacocks
a pulchritude of peacocks
a litter of peeps
a rookery of penguins
a colony of penguins
a head, nye, nest, bouquet, nide (brood) or bevy of pheasants
a kit of pigeons (flying together)
a flock or flight of pigeons
a stand of plovers
a wing of plovers
a congregation of plovers
a covey of ptarmigan
a bevy of quail
a drift of quail
a covey of quail
an unkindness of ravens
a murder of ravens
a building of rooks
a rookery of of rooks
a clamour of rooks
a parliament of rooks
a hill of ruffs
a flock of seagulls
a wisp of snipe
a walk of snipe
a host of sparrows
a murmuration of starlings
a filth of starlings
a mustering of storks
a flight of swallows
a gulp of swallows
a game, bank, team, herd or bevy of swans
a wedge of swans in the air
a lamentation of swans
a flock of swifts
a spring of teal
a mutation of thrushes
a rafter of turkeys
a gang of turkeys
a pitying of turtle doves
a dule of turtle doves
a committee of vultures
a bunch, knob, trip or plump of waterfowl
a company of widgeon
a trip of widgeon
a bunch, trip or plump of wildfowl
a knob of wildfowl (less than 30)
a descent of woodpeckers
a herd of wrens
a chime of wrens