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6 species of birds: Partridge, Turtle Doves, French Hens, Calling Birds, Geese, and Swans.
The version of the “Twelve Days of Christmas” that we know today dates back only as far as 1909 when Frederic Austin’s transcription of the words and his own tune were published in London. The lyrics of the “Twelve Days of Christmas” sound jolly, but the light-heartedness obscures a mixture of astronomical mnemonics, numerology, and pagan cosmology. There are a total of 184 birds in the 12 Days of Christmas.