JACKDAWS

[WILLIAMJHOCK]

WHAT  IS  THE  COLLECTIVE  NAME  FOR  A  GROUP  OF  JACKDAWS 

[Marsh]

TheFreeDictionary.com uses flock.  Disappointing, that.

[andy hughes]

It is, I was hoping for something more exotic like a 'murder' or magpies, or a 'parliament' of crows.

[WoWo]

They tend to only give names to animals which collect in groups eith all the time or at a certain time of year. Jackdaws tend to be a solitary bird and therefore a specific name for a group is unnecessary

[andy hughes]

I had a feeling I had that wrong, and I figured someone would know, and post - thanks ansteyg.

[New Forester]

I'd have said a flock, too.

 

In fact they do flock together, a lot -- are you perhaps thinking of jays, WoWo?  Or another species of jackdaw?  The UK one is Corvus monedula.  Our jackdaws fly in flocks (often with rooks) and they nest colonially too, often in chimneys.  They have very strong pair-bonds, and if you look at a passing jackdaw flock you'll notice that most of the birds fly in their pairs.

 

Incidentally, jackdaw used to be called just daw.  The Jack was originally a nickname, like "Jenny" Wren, "Tom" Tit and "Robin" Redbreast.

 

I do have my doubts about all these special collective names -- they are all suspiciously appropriate to the perceived character of the animal.  Where do they come from, QM?  They sound to me as if they were made up as a kind of elaborate parlour game.

 

Perhaps it should be an "imagination" of collective-noun enthusiasts?

[wulf]

Hello,

Just read somewhere that it is a TRAIN of jackdaws...sounds pretty uninteresting to me. How about a NOISE of jackdaws.We have about 13 in a chestnut tree at he moment!