This group of Ravens is called a conspiracy or unkindness of ravens. Most of these collective terms for animals are fanciful and are more often found on “did you know?” lists than in actual use. Definitions by the largest Idiom Dictionary. Well, here’s a concept that you don’t see very often – An Unkindness of Ravens is a book of collective nouns, like ‘a gaggle of geese‘ or ‘a pride of lions‘, and it makes for pretty fascinating reading. Unkindness is the quality or state of being unkind, or an individual mean act. ... a pandemonium of parrots, an unkindness of ravens, a crash of rhinoceros, a knot of toads, a descent of woodpeckers and a zeal of zebras. Measuring prosocial preferences in Corvus corax. Certainly the name lives up to its meaning when a swarm of ravens decides to work together. The author delves into the history behind each of the terms, which largely originated in … However, when a predator is detected, they have a behavior called Mobbing which enables them to gather together to attack and chase predators. Or we just count them and report the numbers. unkindness phrase. An ‘unkindness’ of ravens? What does unkindness expression mean? The conspiracy of ravens gather together to hunt and chase prey, especially when they feel threatened. And per the Oxford Dictionary a group of crows is a murder of crows, but a group of Ravens is called an “unkindness” of Raven … just a bit of side trivia here. A flock of ravens is known as an unkindness. ... meaning they engaged in affiliative behaviours (preening, contact sitting) with and spent time close to the subject. Birders mostly refer to “flocks” of birds. Definition of unkindness in the Idioms Dictionary. In most cases, a raven swarm like the one presented here won't attack larger foes, but when manipulated by supernatural forces or simple desperation born from hunger, an unkindness of ravens can be a surprisingly dangerous foe.