What Is a Group of Frogs Called?
Four different words for four different ways of picturing frogs together, from marching armies to tangled knots.
A group of frogs is most often called an army, though colony, knot, and froggery all appear in reference lists too. The variety reflects how differently frogs can be imagined en masse — from a chorus calling at night to tadpoles crowding a pond.
On This Page
What Is a Group of Frogs Called?
Army is the term you’ll see cited most often, likely inspired by the sheer number of frogs that can emerge together during a breeding migration, or the chorus of overlapping calls that can sound almost like a marching cadence at night. Colony suggests a more settled, permanent gathering, closer to how the word is used for ants or bacteria. Knot evokes the tangled, overlapping way frogs pile onto each other at the edge of a pond, and froggery is simply a playful, frog-specific coinage that never quite caught on outside of wordlists.
Where Did the Name Come From?
Frogs weren’t part of the original terms of venery in the Book of Saint Albans (1486), which focused mostly on game animals and birds of prey. Army, colony, knot, and froggery are best understood as later additions, popularized through word-list culture in the 19th and 20th centuries rather than medieval hunting tradition, chosen more for vivid imagery than any documented historical use.
Frog Facts
- Skin breathing: Frogs breathe partly through their skin, which is why it needs to stay moist and why so many species live near water.
- Egg-laying: A single female frog can lay anywhere from a few dozen to several thousand eggs at once, depending on species.
- Calls: Frog calls are almost entirely males advertising for mates, and each species has its own distinct call.
- Diet: Tadpoles are herbivorous, but many adult frogs become carnivorous, eating insects, worms, and even smaller frogs.
- Age: Frogs have existed for roughly 200 million years, making them one of the oldest vertebrate lineages still around today.
Example Sentences
- An army of frogs converged on the pond the night after the first spring rain.
- You could hear a colony of frogs calling from the marsh long before you could see them.
Other Names for a Group of Frogs
Army is the most widely repeated term, with colony, knot, and froggery trailing as documented but less common alternatives. None of these are formal scientific terminology; biologists simply refer to frog populations or breeding aggregations.
🧠 Test Your Frog Knowledge
Three quick questions. See what stuck.
1. What’s the most common term for a group of frogs?
2. How do frogs partly breathe, in addition to their lungs?
3. What is a mass of frog eggs called?
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a group of frogs called?
Most commonly an army, though colony, knot, and froggery also appear in reference lists.
Why is a group of frogs called an army?
Likely a reference to the large numbers and loud, overlapping calls during breeding season, though the exact origin isn’t documented.
What’s a group of frog eggs called?
Frog eggs are typically called spawn; the larvae that hatch from them are tadpoles.
Do all frog species gather in large groups?
No, many frogs are solitary outside of breeding season, gathering mainly to mate or feed.
How long have frogs existed?
Frogs date back roughly 200 million years.
Listen for the Chorus…
Army, colony, knot, or froggery, however you picture them, a nighttime chorus of frogs is one of nature’s more distinctive sounds, and now you know the words for it.