"Raft" seems pretty colloquial to me, and I doubt there's a precise
definition. For what little it's worth, I tend to apply the term
to a group of birds only when waves are present, and the birds are
staying together despite being tossed up and down, suggestive of a
loosely-constructed man-made raft. Eiders and scoters assemble in
rafts in my mind; wigeons and teals don't.

Jim McCoy
jfmccoy at earthlink.net
Redmond, WA



-----Original Message-----
From: lavatera at w-link.net [mailto:lavatera at w-link.net]
Sent: Friday, April 06, 2001 9:45 PM
To: tweeters at u.washington.edu
Subject: Raft vs flock


Hi all,

A writer friend asked me a question I couldn't answer. When does one
call a group of birds on the water a raft and when is it a flock? Is it
a matter of numbers, cohesiveness, or what? Are there any other terms
for groups of water birds?

For the record, my collegiate dicitonary defines raft as "an aggregation
of animals (as waterfowl) resting on the water" and flock as "a group of
birds or mammals assembled or herded together.

Thanks,
Maxine Centala