What Does “A Pack of Buzzards” Mean?
“Pack” is a looser, less commonly documented alternate for a group of buzzards, sitting alongside the more specific “wake” (for feeding) and “kettle” (for circling flight). Unlike those two, “pack” doesn’t describe one particular behavior; it’s simply a generic group word borrowed the way it’s borrowed for many other animals, most famously wolves.
Because “buzzard” itself means two different birds depending on where you are, a New World vulture in the US, a Buteo hawk in the UK, “pack” gets applied loosely to whichever bird is meant, without the more precise behavioral logic that shaped “wake” or “kettle.” Both groups are large soaring birds of prey, and both are far more often seen circling or feeding than doing anything that resembles a coordinated wolf-style pack.
Example: “A pack of buzzards perched along the fence line, watching the field below.”
Related: Collective Nouns for Birds · What Is a Group of Buzzards Called? · What Animals Form a Pack?