What Is a Group of Hinds Called?
The females of the red deer, gathering apart from the stags for most of the year.
A group of hinds is called a parcel. A hind is specifically an adult female red deer, and outside of the autumn rut, hinds typically live in their own female-led groups separate from the stags.
What Is a Group of Hinds Called?
Parcel is the term specifically used for a group of hinds, adult female red deer, distinguishing them from a group of stags (the adult males) or a mixed herd. Female red deer form matriarchal groups led by an experienced older hind, typically joined by their offspring and other related females.
Where Did the Name Come From?
Like many English deer-related collective nouns, “parcel” traces back to the medieval hunting vocabulary compiled in the Book of Saint Albans (1486), a period when English had strikingly specific terms for different sexes and ages of the same species, reflecting how closely deer were tracked and hunted by rank and class of animal.
Hind Facts
- Sex-specific term: “hind” refers only to adult female red deer, while an adult male is a “stag,” and a young deer of either sex is a “calf.”
- Seasonal separation: for most of the year, hinds live in their own groups apart from stags, only coming together during the autumn rutting season.
- Matriarchal leadership: hind groups are typically led by an older, experienced female, with related females and their young forming the core of the group.
- Single calves: hinds usually give birth to a single calf each year after a gestation period of roughly 8 months.
Example Sentences
- A parcel of hinds grazed peacefully in the meadow, well away from the roaring stags.
- The young calf stayed close to its mother within the larger parcel of hinds.
🧠 Test Your Hind Knowledge
Three quick questions. See what stuck.
1. What is a group of hinds called?
2. What is a hind, specifically?
3. When do hinds and stags typically come together?
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a group of hinds called?
A parcel, the term specifically used for adult female red deer grouped together.
What is the difference between a hind and a stag?
A hind is an adult female red deer, while a stag is an adult male; both terms apply only to red deer specifically.
Do hinds and stags live together?
For most of the year they live in separate groups, only coming together during the autumn rutting season.
How many calves do hinds have at once?
Hinds usually give birth to a single calf each year after a gestation period of roughly 8 months.
A Term With a Specific Job
A parcel of hinds shows just how precise old English hunting vocabulary could get, right down to the sex of the animal being described.