Many people are aware of the collective names for the mammals of Africa such as a dazzle of zebras and a herd of elephants. However, what people don’t realise (or at least I didn’t) is that for certain groups there are quite specific terms, for example a zeal of zebras. There are of course many more which can be read in Beat about the bush: Mammals and birds
Collective nouns in the English language originated from France. It soon became a hunting tradition of the late Middle Ages to name groups of animals in such an artistic fashion. The first book to be published in English on the subject was the book of St Albans. Printed in 1486 it was subsequently reprinted many times in the 16th Century. A recommended modern day read is James Lipton’s Exaltation of Larks
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