What is a Group of Owls Called

What is a Group of Owls Called

 

It’s unclear where the term first originated, but a group of owls is known as a Parliament or Congress, and less commonly a stare. Most animal group terms or terms of venery can be traced back to Books of Courtesy – manuals for nobles on aspects of noble living, including guidelines on what to say.

If you’re lucky enough to see an owl in the wild, they’re almost certainly on their own. If you’ve ever seen more than one on their own, consider yourself lucky as this is extremely rare. So anyway, what is the collective noun for a group of owls?

The most common collective noun for a group of owls is a parliament. Other less common names include a wisdom, congress, hooting and a stare of owls. In flight, owls can be referred to as a silence; this is because owls have extremely quiet flight, making them excellent hunters.

The terms above are the most commonly used but are not the complete list and can vary depending on which part of the world or the part of the country you’re from.

Continue reading for an explanation of why owls got some of these terms when owls flock together and some other relevant questions on all things owls and groups, or should we say parliaments.

 

Why is it called a parliament of owls?

 

Whether through pop culture, or more lasting references like beloved children’s books, owls have long been associated with wisdom and knowledge. In Greek mythology, an owl helped Athena, the god of Wisdom and Strategy, see the truth and thus became a symbol of higher wisdom and guardians of the Acropolis.

There are a few potential reasons why a group of owls is called a parliament became such a well known and widely used term. However, the most likely reason is that in C.S. Lewis’ 1950s book, The Chronicles of Narnia, he referred to a group of owls as a parliament. It’s safe to say this book went on to be reasonably popular, so it could explain why this term became so well known and widespread.

Another reason, although less likely in our opinion, is that a Parliament is a place in the United Kingdom where politicians meet, and often there is a lot of shouting and hooting you could say, when debating political issues.

Parliaments are also associated with knowledge and wisdom (take that with a pinch of salt), and as owls are also considered to be wise and knowledgable (wise as an owl), there could be links and wordplay taken from this.

 

What is a group of baby owls called?

 

Generally speaking, a group of baby owls is called a brood of owlets. Owlet is the term given to baby or owl hatchlings.

 

Why do owls flock together?

 

It’s thought that owls roost together for a couple of reasons. The first is that they can look out for any predators or mobbing songbirds and for warmth during the colder months, as they can huddle together.

Roosts are usually located nearby to good hunting spots that have abundant prey for owls to hunt. So this could be another reason, as this information is essentially shared with owls joining the roost.

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