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songbirds

Day 4 of 12 Days of Christmas: Four Calling Birds 

By jacksonnhccPosted on Posted in Advent & Christmas, Home, Weekly MeditationsTagged , , , , , ,

Birds sing after a storm; why shouldn’t people feel as free to delight in whatever remains to them? — Rose Kennedy 

Keep a green tree in your heart and perhaps a singing bird will come.  — Proverb 

Be as a bird perched on a frail branch that she feels bending beneath her, still she sings away all the same, knowing she has wings. — Victor Hugo

Hold fast to dreams, for if dreams die, life is a broken-winged bird that cannot fly. — Langston Hughes

I’d rather teach one bird to sing than ten thousand stars how not to dance. — e. e. cummings

SONGS about SONGBIRDS and BLACKBIRDS:

Songbird— John Brehm

Even though I have not seen it,
I know how it could be,
how when the skylark flees
from a falcon’s quick pursuit,

it will turn sometimes, and begin
to sing, as if to say, “Being
eaten by the falcon is the last thing
in the world I’m worried about.

You cannot catch me, Tra, la,la.
I’ve got breath enough to to waste
on a song like this, which you
may as well enjoy before I vanish

into air.” And the raptor knows
it’s true, knows that anyone
foolish enough to sing in such
a circumstance is quite beyond

ever being caught, and that for all
his hunger he’ll be given just
a song, tumbling through the air,
as the body he desires disappears.

CALLING BIRDS

The calling birds of day 4 are the most intersting to me as the original said ‘colly birds’ and subsequent variants said the birds were ‘canary’, ‘collie’, ‘colley’, ‘colour’d’, ‘curley’, ‘coloured’, ‘corley’, and finally ‘calling’ by Austin in 1909 published with his new tune. I am surprised no one ever suggested ‘collared’. The original ‘colly bird’ was the European Blackbird (Turdus merula) as ‘colly’ meant ‘black’ as in ‘coaly’, and is why border collies bear that name. The subsequent versions are undoubtedly the result of mis-hearings and misinterpretations. — Bob Montgomerie

WHAT ARE the 4 CALLING BIRDS? Probably Not What You Think. — Matthew L. Miller, full article: https://blog.nature.org/science/2021/12/14/what-are-the-4-calling-birds-probably-not-what-you-think/

Changing Lyrics

“Twelve Days” was first published in 1780, but it existed as an oral tradition long before that. And even after it was published, the song was most often just passed down from generation to generation.
Over time, lyrics change.

In the original published version, it’s “4 colly birds” not “4 calling birds.” In England at the time, “colly birds” was a name given to blackbirds. I’ll delve into this a bit more in a moment. The other reality is that the song has just changed to better fit the times. While traditionalists never want to hear this, popular songs, stories and holidays shift and morph through the years.

Earlier versions of “Twelve Days” included some completely different lyrics, including “bears a baiting.” This referenced the then popular “sport” of tying up a bear, then having fighting dogs attempt to maim and kill it. Obviously, this would today be considered a holiday buzzkill.

As the term “colly bird” became unfamiliar to listeners, it’s natural they would replace it with the more familiar “calling birds.” It has a nice ring to it even if it’s a big vague.

However, the original version of “colly birds” – a gift of blackbirds – raises its own questions.World’s Worst Party Trick

As impractical as it may be, a gift of 7 swans undeniably carries a bit of romance to it. Four blackbirds? Not so much. Why would this be in the song?

The blackbird (Turdus merula) is a common thrush in England and Europe. As a folk song-worthy gift, it might not be as weird as it first appears. After all, this gift could be turned into a pie.

Remember the nursery rhyme? “Sing a song of sixpence, a pocketful of rye, four and 20 blackbirds baked in a pie. When the pie was opened, the birds began to sing. Now wasn’t that a dainty dish to set before a king?”

This nursery rhyme itself may have hidden political meanings, but it also illuminates an actual royal fad: live blackbird pie. Yes, this was a thing.

As naturalist Jim Hurley points out, at one point it was a big hit to hide a bunch of live songbirds under a pie crust, then serve it at a banquet.

As Hurley writes, “The creation was carried to the table, the outer crust of the pie was opened and to the delight of the assembled guests the birds flew out calling as they escaped from their confinement within the outer pastry casing.” Please don’t try this at home.Eating Blackbirds

“Colly birds” most commonly refers to blackbirds, but it can also be a catch-all term for any small songbirds. Songbirds, including blackbirds, would have been a common menu item at the time of the song’s origin.

Four colly birds would not have made much of meal, to be sure. But thrushes were often eaten whole, bones and all. Sometimes they were baked in a pie.

If this seems strange or gross, consider this: Songbirds are still extensively hunted for food in many parts of the world. Songbirds migrating from Europe to North Africa face a gauntlet of guns and traps, especially in the Mediterranean region.

According to an article in The Guardian, between 11 million to 36 million songbirds are killed or captured in Mediterranean countries each year. In Italy, where some 5 million songbirds are poached annually, people use live birds as decoys to lure various songbird species into elaborate nets and other traps.

Birds are hunted in these countries for food, for the market and for sport. They are also hunted because it is a tradition. But traditions, like holiday songs, can and do change. The hunting of songbirds presents a tremendous threat to these species. Bird advocates are working to end this carnage. Perhaps one route – being taken in countries like Lebanon – is working with hunters to develop limits and ban destructive practices. This would allow a small, sustainable take, and continue traditions, much as “gamebirds” are managed….

How Many Birds Are in the 12 Days of Christmas? – Answered — Clinton Atkins for Thayer Birding, full article:https://www.thayerbirding.com/how-many-birds-are-in-the-12-days-of-christmas/

… If you grew up listening to and singing it, have you counted how many birds are in the 12 Days of Christmas? Yes, it’s six types of birds, appearing multiple times in the song.

… The 12 Days of Christmas is a Christmas carol that is said to have originated in England. It is believed that 12 days represent 12 Catholic tenets of faith, and the carol was used in catechism by early Catholics in England who could not openly practice their faith and are avoiding prosecution.

Regardless of its real origin, the 12 Days of Christmas song is already interesting on its own because of its lyrics. The song is about someone’s true love giving numerous … Christmas gifts in a span of 12 days….

The Birds Mentioned in 12 Days of Christmas

  1. Partridge
  2. Turtle Dove
  3. French Hen
  4. Calling bird or Colly Bird
  5. Geese
  6. Swans

About Four Calling Birds — Clinton Atkins for Thayer Birding, full article: https://www.thayerbirding.com/what-are-four-calling-birds/
Fact#1: The history of lyrical revisions.

Considering how long ago the year 1780 was, the 12 days of Christmas lyrics have undergone numerous changes over time in an effort to appeal to more people. While some historians believe that the lyrics are French in origin, the song was first seen in the English children’s book written by Mirth With-out Mischief.

But In this modern day, the famous and familiar lyrics we often hear were written in 1909 by an English writer named Frederic Austin. Included in his revisions are the changing of “4 colly birds” to “4 calling birds” and the rhythm of “five go-old rings.”

Along with 3 french hens, the five golden rings’ lyrics are also believed to initially relate to the necks of ring-necked pheasants rather than actual rings, continuing the song’s motif of feasting on calling birds Christmas.Fact#2: The four Gospels

The famous Christmas carol is initially intended as a romantic “memory-and-forfeit” game in England for British children to play in order to test their retention.

But from 1558 to 1829, practicing Catholicism in the said country was considered a crime. Thus, the carol was also believed to be Christian’s way of learning the tenets of their religion. Accordingly, the four calling birds symbolize the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, which remind the people that God sent Jesus as the world’s savior.Fact#3: The meaning behind “colly.”

The term “collie” or “colly” from its original lyrics has a definition of black as coal and was used as an English slang word that translates to blackbirds.

But why was the blackbird chosen for this song? This is simply because a blackbird (Turdus merula) is a common passerine in the land of Europe and England. However, the original version could also have a meaning as a “gift of blackbirds.”In this sense, the blackbirds would be perfect as a gift ideas to be served as a meal (all including its bones) or as a pie that can bring delight to the table.Fact#4: The sound of 4 calling birds.

Roundheads and pointed wings characterize blackbirds. They have black plumage with a touch of yellow on their eyes and beaks. Most importantly, these calling birds sound will entice you with their “strangled” low and melodic, and beautiful songs.

THRUSHES — Siegfried Sassoon 

Tossed on the glittering air they soar and skim,   

Whose voices make the emptiness of light   

A windy palace. Quavering from the brim   

Of dawn, and bold with song at edge of night,   

They clutch their leafy pinnacles and sing   

Scornful of man, and from his toils aloof

Whose heart’s a haunted woodland whispering;   

Whose thoughts return on tempest-baffled wing;   

Who hears the cry of God in everything,   

And storms the gate of nothingness for proof.

BLACKBIRD ETUDE—  A.E. Stallings 

For Craig

The blackbird sings at

the frontier of his music.

The branch where he sat

marks the brink of doubt,

is the outpost of his realm,

edge from which to rout

encroachers with trills

and melismatic runs sur-

passing earthbound skills.

It sounds like ardor,

it sounds like joy. We are glad

here at the border

where he signs the air

with his invisible staves,

“Trespassers beware”—

Song as survival—

a kind of pure music which

we cannot rival.

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