A group of flamingos is called a flamboyance — and collective nouns are stranger than you think
Some trivia is so bizarre it forces you to rethink your entire understanding of the world. Check out the fact below, see how others reacted, and scroll down to dive into the verified science and history behind it.
Collective nouns in English are often poetic or absurd: a parliament of owls, a murder of crows, an unkindness of ravens, a tower of giraffes, an ambush of tigers, a bloat of hippopotamuses, a conspiracy of lemurs, a pandemonium of parrots, and a flamboyance of flamingos. Many of these were invented in the 15th century by English nobility in a linguistic game of wit — compiled in 'Books of Courtesy' as displays of learned wordplay. Some stuck; some were forgotten and rediscovered.
Collective nouns feel like they have ancient, logical origins — as if a 'murder' of crows was named for something crows do. Finding that many were invented as aristocratic word games in the 1400s makes the English language feel simultaneously richer and more arbitrary.
The Science Behind It
Collective nouns in English are often poetic or absurd: a parliament of owls, a murder of crows, an unkindness of ravens, a tower of giraffes, an ambush of tigers, a bloat of hippopotamuses, a conspiracy of lemurs, a pandemonium of parrots, and a flamboyance of flamingos. Many of these were invented in the 15th century by English nobility in a linguistic game of wit — compiled in 'Books of Courtesy' as displays of learned wordplay. Some stuck; some were forgotten and rediscovered.
Why Your Brain Finds This Hard to Believe
OddlyHuman Editorial
VerifiedWritten and fact-checked by the OddlyHuman Behavioral Science Team. We verify all psychological, sociological, and historical claims against peer-reviewed journals, primary sources, and established encyclopedias to bring you accurate insights.
Read our Editorial Guidelines →“A group of flamingos is called a flamboyance. A group of owls: a parliament. Crows: a murder. Hippos: a bloat. Many of these were invented as aristocratic word games in the 1400s. 🦩 #OddlyHuman”