In the English language, many animals have different names depending on whether they are male, female, young, domesticated, or in groups.
The best-known source of many English words used for collective groupings of animals is The Book of Saint Albans, an essay on hunting published in 1486 and attributed to Juliana Berners. Most terms used here may be found in common dictionaries and general information web sites.
Generic terms The terms in this table apply to many or all taxa in a particular biological family, class, or clade.
Scientific term Trivial name Young Female Male Collective noun Collateral adjective Aves bird chick hen cock, rooster flock avian Bovinae cattle; ox, cow, kine (plural, dialectical) calf cow (bred);heifer (not bred) bull (intact);bullock or steer (castrated) herd bovine Caninae dog puppy, pup, cub, whelp bitch dog pack canine Cetacea whale, dolphin, porpoise calf cow bull podherd cetacean Equidae horse colt (male), filly (female), foal jenny (asses);mare (other equids) jack (asses);stallion (other equids);gelding (castrated horse) herd equine Felidae cat kitten (non-big cats, such as Felis, Lynx, Puma, etc.);cub (big cats, Panthera, and also Puma) queen tom, king clowder (small cats);pride (big cats) feline Suinae pig piglet sow boar drift, drove porcine, suine Procyonidae Raccoon family of Carnivorans cub, kit gaze, smack, committee procyonid, procyonine Viverridae Civet family of Carnivorans viverrid, viverrine Mustelidae Ferret family of Carnivorans(large: badgers & wolverines;small: weasels & ferrets) kit sow (large);jill (small) boar (large);hob, jack (small) colony (large);business (small) mustelid, musteline Leporidae rabbits & hares nestling jill jack nest or band leporid, leporine Osteichthyes bony fish hatchling, fry, fingerling school, shoal piscine, ichthyic
Terms by species or taxon