Counter modifying noun with という


> ... 何百というふくろうが四方八方に飛び交う光景が見られました。  
>  You could see the sight of hundreds of owls flying in every direction.

I'm intrigued by 何百というふくろう. Why is という used here?

I get very confused when it comes to numbers and counters in Japanese. Why
could it not be just

> 何百 **の** ふくろう?

Or, maybe since we're counting birds, it should be

> 何百羽のふくろう?

Or even, adverbially,

> ふくろうが何百飛び交う.

Which among these examples is grammatical and what are the differnces of
nuance between them?




何百というふくろう is very close to 何百ものふくろう:

  * 数百(羽)のふくろう  
several hundred owls

  * 何百(羽)ものふくろう  
hundreds of owls

  * 何百(羽)というふくろう  
hundreds of owls

Although the latter two are translated into English the same way, I think the
という version is a little more emphatic and literary, and often has a stronger
connotation of "countless". I think it's best to remember this as a common
grammar pattern rather than asking why. (Grammatically, 何百という is a relative
clause that modifies ふくろう, so a super-literal translation is "owls to which
one says hundreds".)

You can say the same thing adverbially:

  * ふくろうが数百(羽)飛び交っている。  
Several hundred owls are flying about.

  * ふくろうが何百(羽) **も** 飛び交っている。  
Hundreds of owls are flying about.

In this pattern, 何 must be used with も, so 何百のふくろう and ふくろうが何百飛び交う are both
ungrammatical. (You can say 何百のふくろう if you are asking "how many hundreds of
owls?", though.)

**EDIT:** An important difference from ～もの is that you can use という only with
何. For example, you can say 83羽ものふくろう ("as many as eighty three owls") but not
83羽というふくろう.




何百というふくろう is very close to 何百ものふくろう:

  * 数百(羽)のふくろう  
several hundred owls

  * 何百(羽)ものふくろう  
hundreds of owls

  * 何百(羽)というふくろう  
hundreds of owls

Although the latter two are translated into English the same way, I think the
という version is a little more emphatic and literary, and often has a stronger
connotation of "countless". I think it's best to remember this as a common
grammar pattern rather than asking why. (Grammatically, 何百という is a relative
clause that modifies ふくろう, so a super-literal translation is "owls to which
one says hundreds".)

You can say the same thing adverbially:

  * ふくろうが数百(羽)飛び交っている。  
Several hundred owls are flying about.

  * ふくろうが何百(羽) **も** 飛び交っている。  
Hundreds of owls are flying about.

In this pattern, 何 must be used with も, so 何百のふくろう and ふくろうが何百飛び交う are both
ungrammatical. (You can say 何百のふくろう if you are asking "how many hundreds of
owls?", though.)

**EDIT:** An important difference from ～もの is that you can use という only with
何. For example, you can say 83羽ものふくろう ("as many as eighty three owls") but not
83羽というふくろう.

