For the Birds: Let's talk about the birds in the '12 Days of Christmas'
That old English Christmas carol about 12 days of gifting holds certain intrigue for birders. After all, seven of the 12 gifts were birds.
First published in England in 1780, “Twelve Days of Christmas” dates back to an earlier French rhyme. Historians know it’s French because, well, there’s this bird, a partridge in a pear tree. While 40-some partridge species range worldwide, only one is native to England. It doesn’t perch in trees, pear or otherwise. But, France's red-legged partridges do.
While verses likely date from the 1600s, the melody didn’t surface until 1842. Finally copyrighted in 1909, the carol has seen multiple recordings, from Burl Ives and Perry Como to the Muppets. And parodies probably outnumber the original.
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Twenty years ago, some folks tried tacking religious symbolism to the verses, but Snopes.com, the Internet’s rumor control, pooh-poohs the effort, claiming no historical support for the interpretation.
So, according to the song's lyrics, what bird gifts did the lady’s generous true love send?
Interestingly enough, even by today's standards, most birds on the gift list were considered gourmet foods, partridges among them.
Similar to grouse but related to pheasants, the only U.S. partridges akin to those in 18th century pear trees are gray partridges, introduced from Eurasia, now naturalized in agricultural lands along the U.S.-Canada border. Having received 12 of them over 12 days, the lovely lady and her family surely had a banquet.
Turtle doves, in the same family as mourning doves, may have been billing and cooing caged birds. These “love birds,” at least during the early Renaissance, often symbolized romantic relationships. So maybe the giver's true love opted out of baking the 22 delicacies.
French hens were most likely fancy domesticated chickens, perhaps especially glamorous, elegantly feathered hybrids, but certainly a tasty set of thirty, most likely roasted.
Four calling birds seem to suggest some avian species that sings loudly; but in reality, “calling” is a distorted form of “colly,” meaning “black as coal.” Ah, yes, recall the four-and-twenty blackbirds baked in a pie? Unfortunately, the lady received only 36, a few shy for two pies.
The next day, her true love appears to have changed tactics, gifting five gold rings. In fact, however, “rings” was a common shortened term for ringed pheasants, just as we use “hummer” as a shortened form for hummingbird. Think pheasant under glass, 40 of them, a gift that, at least to modern-day lovers, surely ranks considerably more romantic than blackbirds, pie or no pie.
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Six geese, probably Europe’s common graylag geese, in this case 42 females laying eggs, made a fine gift. Not only would the lady benefit from of a regular egg supply but also from goose down, the fluffy breast feathers plucked annually for soft pillows—plus roast goose in the offing. A lasting gift, indeed!
Then, seven swans swam into the picture, doubtless mute swans, exotics introduced into North America that now threaten our native swans. To my knowledge, however, no one has a good recipe for brazed breast of swan. So we’ll assume the giver intended the 42 graceful creatures to enhance his true love’s lakeside viewing.
For more information about birds and bird habitat, see Sharon Sorenson's books "How Birds Behave," "Birds in the Yard Month by Month," and "Planting Native to Attract Birds to Your Yard." Check her website at birdsintheyard.com, follow daily bird activity on Facebook at SharonSorensonBirdLady, or email her at chshsoren@gmail.com.
This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Indiana Birds: What is the meaning behind '12 Days of Christmas' song?
