BBC Wildlife - UK (2019-12)

The

CHRISTMAS

BIRDS of

13

It’sgotdoves,hensand,ofcourse,a partridge,but

weexplorehowa much-lovedcarolmaybeall

about birds, plus why the robin rules Christmas.

ByStephen Moss

L

ikemanyancientrhymes,

storiesandsongs,The

TwelveDaysof Christmas

hasbeenthesubjectof

countlessexplanationsof

its‘realmeaning’.Some

havesuggestedthatit is an

ancientversionofa weddinglist– a series

ofincreasinglylavishgiftspresentedtoa

marriedcouple,froma humblepartridge

toanentiredrummingband.Othershave

seen a more sinister meaning in the verse,

speculatingthatit wasoriginallywrittenin

codeduringtheProtestantReformation,to

teachCatholicchildrentheirfaith.Inthis

interpretation,threeFrenchhensrepresent

theFather,SonandHolySpirit;fourcolly

birds,thegospels; 12 drummersdrumming

theApostles,andsoon.

Asa lifelongbirder,I haveanother

suggestion:thateachofthecarol’s 12 lines

representsa bird.Giventhatthefirstfour

lines,alongwiththesixthandseventh,are

explicitly avian, I suggest that the whole

54 BBC Wildlife December 2019