A parliament came my way a few years ago, via Minnesota. Really! My niece Missy sent, not a flock, but a parliament of owls and I was very glad to get it. It settled sedately into my mailbox in a neat little package–a very colorful group of small owls perfect for a mantlepiece or a curio shelf.
Curious about names for groups of birds, I looked up a few. They are interesting and cause me to wonder who decided all this and why and when. Anyway, here they are:
A group of crows is called a murder of crows. (Does that mean one of my cozy mysteries could be called Moonlight Can Be a Group of Crows? No, it doesn’t have that special ring to it, so I’ll stick with Moonlight Can Be Murder.)
When you see several robins on your lawn next spring, you can appropriately yell, “Spring is here! A round of robins is in the yard.”
Our majestic national birds, eagles, when they gather family and friends around, are called a convocation.
And, a number of those most popular birds for November, turkeys, are known as a rafter. Thanksgiving dinners served to a bunch of people might need a rafter of turkeys!
Speaking of turkeys, one of my favorite holiday children’s books is A Turkey for Thanksgiving by Eve Bunting and Diane DeGroat. It’s fun reading for adults as well as kids. And, it’s about only one solitary little fellow, not a rafter after all.
I guess that’s how the slang term round robin came to be!
I thought of that too, That must be it. Thanks for writing, Morgan.
And don’t forget their round bellies when the worms are plentiful!
You’re right. Then, they are definitely round robins! Thanks, Kimberly.