Of the Collective

Collective nouns, that is.  There are cool words to describe groups of critters.  You know, a herd of cattle, a hum of bumblebees, a bucket of pheasants, a kindle of kittens, a business of ferrets....

A crow considers participating in a murder.

This member of an army of frogs is on guard duty.

Here we have a small charm of finches.

A bunch of ants are called a colony, clump or swarm.  The correct term probably depends on the activity going on or type of ant being described. We know this for sure.  Ants of the magic marker variety are called a drawing of ants.

This squirrel is on time out from his scurry.

A gang of turkeys looking for trouble.  Such hoodlum turkeys are also known as a raft.

A term inspired by famous bad guy George Raft?

Ducks stand in a puddling.

A dole of doves sit on a rock.

This is not a knot of toads.

One walking stick short of a faggot.  (OK.  I made that one up.)

Robin vs his Doppelganger

It began innocently enough.  Mr. Robin sought a mate with which to nest.

The trouble began during that necessary part of the courtship process that involves chasing away romantic rivals.

Mr. Robin had the tools:  manly good looks, courage, persistence.   Somehow, it went wrong.

You know that game where you stand before a mirror and chant taunts to dare evil to come through?

Mr. Robin played that game.  He's spending the season battling his own reflection.

Meanwhile, Mrs. Robin has moved on to nest with a mate that isn't going the way of Narcissus.