Quizzes & Puzzles5 mins ago
Parliment of Owls or rooks?
7 Answers
I have googled the collective noun of a group of birds in Parliment (for a quiz, asking on behalf of my Auntie) some websites state that it is a parliment of owls when others say it is rooks!
Can anyone tell me which one it is please?
Can anyone tell me which one it is please?
Answers
Best Answer
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For more on marking an answer as the "Best Answer", please visit our FAQ.Chaucer wrote, in the year 1400, of the "parliament of birds"...ie any or all sorts of gathered birds...and there is no record of the word being applied specifically to rooks before the late 1930s or to owls before the late 1960s. So, both of the latter two are more recent 'creations' than I myself am!
As I know - having run pub quizzes for years - the guy running the quiz has the casting vote on such things, so it's pointless even telling him any of the above.
As I know - having run pub quizzes for years - the guy running the quiz has the casting vote on such things, so it's pointless even telling him any of the above.
References can't agree. Schott says " a parliament of owls or rooks"; Brewer says "a building or clamour of rooks" and does not mention owls; Chambers defines parliament as " a little-used term for a group of owls"; Guinness Book of Answers gives "building, clamour and parliament" for rooks and "parliament and stare" for owls. You pays your money and ...
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