A group of ducks is generally called a “flock.” But that’s not the only collective noun you can use. I'd like to introduce the term "Quackery" to describe a group of ducks hiding a geocaching log amongst them in their CC. You'll need to find the duck with the log and sign (tweezers will help) - please don't add any swag or TB's unless they're ducks. The cache is NOT in the cemetery, please be respectful while walking through and only visit during daylight hours. The cache is a short walk from the parking coordinates.
Please replace as found, let's keep this one off the ground!
History and etymology:
Collective nouns for a group of like animals are known as “terms of venery.” A few, such as “a pride of lions,” have become established and are used in everyday speech, but most, such as “a shiver of sharks,” “a ballet of swans,” and “a dopping of shelduck,” are more rare.
So what is a group of ducks called?
- A flock.
- A paddling.
- A badelynge, badelyng, or badling.
- A raft.
- A safe.
- A bunch.
- A flush.
- A team.
- A brace.
- A sord, sorde, or sore.
- A brood.
- A clutch.
- A bevy.
- A daggle.
- A skein.
- A plump.
- A twack.
- A dopping.
Flock is the most common term, especially when referring to a group of ducks in flight. However, it can refer to any assortment of two or more ducks, or a mixed-species group of birds, or any group of birds.
A paddling is a group of ducks on water. There’s a children’s book called “A Paddling of Ducks: Animal Groups from A to Z.”
“Badelynge,” “badelyng,” and “badling” are all pronounced like “badling” and are all malapropisms of “paddling.” They are archaic terms that tend to refer to smaller groups of ducks either on land or in water. These words were in use at least as early as 1801 and are mentioned in various waterfowl hunting manuals.
The word “raft” can also be used as a collective noun, again referring to swimming ducks. It can also refer to swimming animals of any species. This term is more frequently used in modern day than many others in this list.
A “safe” of ducks is a group of ducks on land.
A “bunch” of ducks usually means a group of ducks on water, but it can be used in any context.
Hunters called a group of ducks that had been flushed into the air “a flush of ducks.” Thus, this word is usually in reference to a group of ducks that have just taken flight.
“Team” is another term that originated in duck hunting. It mostly referred to ducks flying overhead or sometimes swimming ducks. Now it is occasionally used in contexts such as “before buying your first team of ducks…” or “University Student Loses His Lunch to a Sly Team of Ducks.”
In the world of duck hunting, a brace of ducks refers to a pair of dead ducks tied together. (Thus, “three brace” would mean six ducks.) However, it can also be used for either a group of ducks on land or a group of ducks in water, of any number.
The word “sord,” also sometimes written “sorde” or “sore,” is specific to Mallards. It comes from the Middle English word “sorde,” which means “to rise up in flight.”
“Brood” is a word that can be used to describe a group of ducklings, usually a family of ducklings born at the same time.
“Clutch” also refers to a group of baby ducks. It can also mean “a group or nest of eggs.”
Bevy is a more generic word, referring to birds in general, but it is applicable to a group of ducks as well.
Daggle is a rare collective noun for a group of ducks.
“You may also hear tell of a flush, a badling, or a twack of ducks. (Also a knob, a daggle, or a smeath. I only wish I could make this stuff up),” writes Will Habington, the author.
Skein, while still a rare word, has enjoyed more use over the years. It refers to ducks (or geese) in flight, particularly when flying in a V-shaped formation. The word may have come from an imagined similarity to a skein of yarn.
The word “plump” can refer to a group of any type of waterfowl, whether entirely geese, entirely ducks, or a mix. “Plump” may also refer to ducks that are being prepared for cooking.
Twack is a word that may have faded into obscurity. Perhaps it’s a derivative of “quack.” It does appear in this article, however: Are rats to blame for ducks disappearing from Marlborough? And here: Massacre mystery after dead ducks found in village road
Dopping appears to be an even rarer word. It’s a collective term for a group of shelduck, apparently. It comes from the Middle English word “dop,” which means to “to dive.” Some sources indicate it may refer to a group of ducks when they are diving, regardless of species. A blogger named Chris Arthur thinks it is a useless word which should be culled.
There exist isolated mentions of “springs of teal” and “coils of wigeon,” as well.
Scattered Internet sources claim there is such a thing as a waddling of ducks, or perhaps a waddle of ducks. There’s also “battling of ducks.” Perhaps another malapropism of “badelynge”? And “doppling.” And “lute.” Further Internet “sources” claim a group of ducks can be called a bed, company, fleet, flight, armada, brade, gang, knob, leash, pack, party, pryde, puddle, puddling, smeath, sort, string, suce, sute, trip, wabbling, or wedge.