Somedays you find yourself more aware of the fact you're a publisher. Today was one of those days. It started off the same as any other day. But as the clouds parted and the sun came out, so too did the WORD APPRECIATION.
Today we appreciated the various collective nouns for birds. How very specific, I detect you think. Not at all when you consider that editorial staffer Jessica Feehan is hard at work on a book, provisionally titled On The Wing, ready for publication in April.
The author, Derwent May, is one of the country’s leading experts on nature and the countryside and, for many years, his Feather Reports have appeared regularly in the pages of The Times. In those columns – collected in this volume – he captures the rich and changing world of British bird life throughout the calendar year.
So you see it all makes perfect sense. Jess piped up with 'did you know that a group of goldfinches is called a charm?' All the talk of birds in a political office led to the inevitable - 'did you know the collective noun for owls is a parliament of owls?'
Followed by a few less predictable examples:
'A pandemonium of parrots'
'A murmuration of starlings'
Wowzers.
If you know of any more do please share them. Your contribution will be greatly appreciated. We are in the mood for appreciating these things today.