Cow? No, that's for female cattle. Neat? Archaic! Head of cattle? Too many words.
I've never heard anything used other than "cow" (which is technically incorrect, I know) and I grew up in Wisconsin with cows next door. So should you go with what is actually in use, or what is technically correct? In the latter case, I don't think there is a singular form of "cattle" but "head of cattle" comes close. Check out this blog for an interesting take on your question:
http://motivatedgrammar.wordpress.com/2010/07/13/whats-the-singular-form-of-cattle/
Thanks for the link, Heimhenge. Â It made me decide that, for myself, I'll use bovine. (I'll probably forget in the heat of the moment.)
There's also kine, but that's apparently a collective term.
On another forum some years ago, someone suggested cattlebeast. In fact, they suggested that they'd actually heard someone use it and asked if it was a valid term. At that time, I offered beef.
Cow doesn't just mean female, but a female that has given birth. Â A younger, less-experienced female is a heifer.
Cattlemen who are not dairymen, refer to an individual a a beef, a group as beeves. Dairymen refer to a herd of cattle as cows, but they generally are females that have come fresh. Â Males in the dairy breeds rarely see a birthday.
The word "cow" doesn't necessarily mean bovine; it also is applied to bison, whales, and, I presume, other species.