Yes, a group of falcons is called a "cast"---you can look it up here, and, at about eight pounds each, that would come to roughly twenty falcons for Flicker's 160 pounds.

And yes, able to turn into twenty or so falcons will come in handy in the future.

A scientist would have been fascinated by living as a Zha'Tahn for a while---but Flicker/Lafferty just wants to get home, to the good things in life.