A Murmuration of Starlings
The Collective Nouns of Animals & Birds
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Merlin Unwin Books
Published:12th Sep '13
Currently unavailable, our supplier has indicated it should be available around 31st October 2025
With 50 new paintings and entries for the collective nouns of animals, birds and insects, artist and author Steve Palin presents a fresh take on his best-selling A Murmuration of Starlings.
Some are beautifully illustrated classics: a pride of lions, even a raft of otters perhaps – but what about a business of ferrets or a descent of woodpeckers?
Many collective nouns have their roots in medieval times, in particular applied to those creatures hunted by man, and subject to the etiquette of their proper group names.
This elegant hardback gift book will appeal to all those with a fascination for the English language, those who want the answers for quizzes and crossword puzzles, and those with an interest in animals and birds.
For some reason, collective nouns never cease to fascinate. Mr Palin explains that the weird and wonderful terms have been around for more than 500 years…
As we increasingly text instead of write and mangle the language in our rush to communicate, a book about collective nouns looks touchingly old fashioned...[but] collective nouns never cease to fascinate. The best thing about group names is that they offer more questions than answers...which is why Mr Palin offers a few explanations in his book.
* Western Morning News *Not only does the author explain why, for example, we have a nye of pheasants, a loomery of guillemots and a fall of woodcock, he includes interesting information about the various creatures, snippets of folklore and beautiful full-page illustrations of each subject.
* Evergreen Magazine (This England) *A readable and enjoyable book that I could just not put down – superb. I certainly did not know of a ‘richness; of pine martens or even a ‘kindle’ of kittens. The author wrote the text and drew the many colour illustrations for the book and they are a delightful combination.
* Highland News *Palin’s blend of distinctive artwork and thorough research into a fascinating topic will appeal to a wide range of people.
* Birdwatching magaziISBN: 9781906122546
Dimensions: 168mm x 143mm x 14mm
Weight: 297g
112 pages