Parliament of…………..
Animals inhabited the Earth much before human beings came around. But it took many a wise and wicked human brains to give collective nouns to animals. Many are straight forward but many more are amusing. Allow me to walk you through the zoo.
Most logical and metamorphically self explanatory is Tower of Giraffe. Another good one is about cockroaches. They are found not just at places connected to drainage or sewerage like bathrooms and toilets, but also in kitchen drawers,refrigerator shelves and most disturbingly - in shoes and clothes. No wonder,the plural is called Intrusion of Cockroaches.
You put a couple of rabbits in a pen, leave them undisturbed for some time and you come back to a Colony of Rabbits. It’s also a Colony of Bats, but I guess this colony is upside down. Eagles are considered sharp with good vision and brains.It’s a kind of appreciation of these virtues that a group is called Convocation of Eagles.
Confusion starts with our evolutionary forefathers. It is difficult to comprehend why it is Troop of Monkeys, Band of Gorillas, Cartload of Chimpanzees and Shrewdness of Apes. Maybe, the different lineage explains the different characteristics of different people. It must be a disgruntled element who could not enjoy his cup of milk who coined the term Obstinacy of Buffaloes. Sharks send shivers down many a spine. But their own group is called Shiver of Sharks. Prickle of Porcupines sounds okay, but why Murder of Crows?
It is Cloud of Grasshoppers and Plague of Locusts. But actually, it’s Locusts that cast dark clouds of devastation over crops. Bed of roses has company in Bed of Oysters.But it sure will need some courage and skill to enjoy Bed of Snakes.
Owls are a funny lot. They are believed to be wise birds. At the same time they are considered dimwits. Anyone who fails to grasp a point is termed ullu. But it’s the collective noun that left me wondering whether it was invention of a wise or a wicked mind. A group is called Parliament of Owls.