What Is a Group of Owls Called?

What Is a Group of Owls Called?

Parliament is by far the most widely recognized collective noun for owls, and it’s earned a life well beyond word-list trivia — it’s the kind of term that shows up in children’s books, fantasy fiction, and everyday conversation. Stare is the more specific alternate for owls perched together, and wisdom and bazaar occasionally turn up on longer collective-noun lists, though they’re far less commonly used in practice.

Where Did the Name Come From?

“Parliament of owls” plays on the owl’s long-standing reputation as a symbol of wisdom and judgment, an association that stretches back to ancient Greece, where the owl was the sacred bird of Athena, goddess of wisdom. Picture a group of owls perched solemnly in a row, staring forward with those famously unblinking eyes, and it’s easy to see how someone landed on the image of a stern governing body in session. The term isn’t one of the well-documented entries from the 15th-century Book of Saint Albans, the source of many classic hunting-era collective nouns; it’s a later, more literary coinage that gained wide popularity partly through its use in C.S. Lewis’s Narnia books, where a “Parliament of Owls” appears as a memorable chapter title.

Owl Facts

• Silent flight: Owls have specially fringed wing feathers that break up turbulent airflow, letting them fly almost completely silently as they hunt.
• Head rotation: Owls can’t move their eyes in their sockets, but they can rotate their heads up to about 270 degrees to compensate, thanks to extra vertebrae and a specialized blood-vessel structure that keeps blood flowing even at extreme angles.
• Hearing: Many owl species have asymmetrically placed ears, one slightly higher than the other, which helps them pinpoint the exact location of prey by sound alone, even in total darkness.
• Nocturnal habits: Most owl species are active at night, using excellent low-light vision and hearing to hunt when many prey animals are least alert.
• Range: Owls are found on every continent except Antarctica, with well over 200 species adapted to habitats from Arctic tundra to tropical rainforest.

Example Sentences

• A parliament of owls watched silently from the oak branches as dusk settled over the forest.
• The birdwatchers were thrilled to spot a rare stare of owls roosting together during the day.
• In the story, the animals convened a parliament of owls to settle the dispute.

Other Names for a Group of Owls

Parliament is the term nearly everyone reaches for, and it’s the one you’ll find in the widest range of sources. Stare is more specific, describing owls perched together rather than owls in general. Wisdom leans directly on the owl’s symbolic reputation, while bazaar is rare enough that most owl enthusiasts have never encountered it outside a word list. Since most owl species are solitary hunters, seeing any real-world “parliament” at all is a genuinely uncommon sight.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a group of owls called?

A group of owls is called a parliament of owls, one of the best-known collective nouns in English.

Why are owls called a parliament?

The term plays on the owl’s long-standing symbolic association with wisdom and judgment, an image reinforced by their solemn, staring expression.

Are there other collective nouns for owls?

Yes. Stare is used for owls perched together, and wisdom and bazaar appear on some longer collective-noun lists, though far less commonly.

Is parliament of owls a scientific term?

No, it’s a traditional English collective noun rather than a term used in ornithology.

Do owls actually gather in groups?

Most owl species are solitary hunters, so seeing several owls together at once is relatively uncommon outside of family groups or migration.