Q 01/05

Which collective noun for a group of crows shares its name with a serious crime?

A) A conspiracy

B) A murder

C) A mischief

D) A deceit

Answer · why

B) A murder

A murder of crows is a gathering of some of the cleverest birds alive: crows make and use tools and can recognise and remember individual human faces.

Q 02/05

A group of owls, birds long tied to wisdom, shares its name with which law-making body?

A) A senate

B) A congress

C) A legislature

D) A parliament

Answer · why

D) A parliament

A parliament has named a gathering of birds, especially rooks or owls, since the 15th century. The owl's link with wisdom goes back to Athena in ancie...

Q 03/05

An ambush or a streak is the traditional collective noun for a group of which big cats?

A) Jaguars

B) Leopards

C) Tigers

D) Cheetahs

Answer · why

C) Tigers

Tigers lead largely solitary lives, so an ambush is a rare sight. The word suits a predator that crouches hidden in foliage before it strikes.

Q 04/05

A group of flamingos, birds turned pink by their diet, is known by which showy collective noun?

A) A flamboyance

B) An ostentation

C) A kaleidoscope

D) A bouquet

Answer · why

A) A flamboyance

A flamboyance, also called a stand, owes its colour to food: flamingos hatch greyish-red and turn pink or red from the beta-carotene they eat.

Q 05/05

Which collective noun names a group of rhinoceroses, the horned heavyweights of Africa and Asia?

A) An obstinacy

B) A sounder

C) A crash

D) A drove

Answer · why

C) A crash

A crash is an unusual sight, because adult male rhinoceroses tend to be solitary. Females of the African species sometimes form groups.