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The Twelve Birds of Christmas
Naturalist Stephen Moss digs beneath the surface of some of our most popular Christmas carols in an ornithological celebration of the Festive Season. Using the structure of the carol as a jumping off, he explores the palce of twelve fascinating British birds in our, history, culture and landscape. Some of the birds are obvious, there’s the swan and of course the partridge. Other chapters are loose interpretation of a for drummers drumming he delves into the woodpecker's distinctive drumming tap.
Woodpeckers, he explains, have special padded skulls to mitigate against using its head like hammer drills. They carefully select dead trees for the most hollow, sonorous sound, and in Florida a space mission was once delayed because woodpeckers had pecked holes in the outer surface of the space shuttle. With brilliant anecdotes and insights, Stephen Moss weaves history, culture, bird behaviour and folklore into a compelling narrative for each species, tracing its fortunes over the past two centuries.
Woodpeckers, he explains, have special padded skulls to mitigate against using its head like hammer drills. They carefully select dead trees for the most hollow, sonorous sound, and in Florida a space mission was once delayed because woodpeckers had pecked holes in the outer surface of the space shuttle. With brilliant anecdotes and insights, Stephen Moss weaves history, culture, bird behaviour and folklore into a compelling narrative for each species, tracing its fortunes over the past two centuries.
224 pages, Hardcover
First published October 31, 2019
20 people are currently reading
448 people want to read
About the author
Stephen Moss
75 books142 followersLibrarian Note: there is more than one author with this name in the Goodreads database.
Stephen Moss is a naturalist, broadcaster, television producer and author. In a distinguished career at the BBC Natural History Unit his credits included Springwatch, Birds Britannia and The Nature of Britain. His books include The Robin: A Biography, A Bird in the Bush, The Bumper Book of Nature, Wild Hares and Hummingbirds and Wild Kingdom. He is also Senior Lecturer in Nature and Travel Writing at Bath Spa University. Originally from London, he lives with his family on the Somerset Levels, and is President of the Somerset Wildlife Trust. He is a regular contributor to the Guardian.
Stephen Moss is a naturalist, broadcaster, television producer and author. In a distinguished career at the BBC Natural History Unit his credits included Springwatch, Birds Britannia and The Nature of Britain. His books include The Robin: A Biography, A Bird in the Bush, The Bumper Book of Nature, Wild Hares and Hummingbirds and Wild Kingdom. He is also Senior Lecturer in Nature and Travel Writing at Bath Spa University. Originally from London, he lives with his family on the Somerset Levels, and is President of the Somerset Wildlife Trust. He is a regular contributor to the Guardian.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews
January 9, 2025
During the Christmas season, have you ever wondered why your true love wants to shower you with a seemingly never-ending supply of birds? Well, perhaps you'd like to learn more about the birds mentioned in that classic carol - although you may be flummoxed to discover that even more of the gifts may have also been birds in the original Twelve Days of Christmas song, as suggested by some linguistic detective work done by the author. This was a pleasant surprise and such a great read around the holidays!
Click here to hear more of my thoughts over on my Booktube channel, abookolive!
Click here to hear more of my thoughts over on my Booktube channel, abookolive!
December 30, 2019
Most people know the carol, Twelve Days of Christmas with it’s rather exuberant and expensive gift list from one lover to another. Six of the gifts given are birds, from the partridge at the beginning of the song, to the swans, midway through. However, Stephen Moss wondered if the other gifts were also birds and set about researching into the possible species that could represent the remaining gifts.
For example, for the present of Five Gold Rings, he has discovered that the Yellowhammer has an old Scottish folk-name of ‘yoldring’. It is this and similar corruptions to our language that have meant that he has been able to take an educated guess as to what the other birds might have been in the song. So for twelve drummers drumming he has chosen woodpeckers and for ten lords a-leaping, cranes were chosen.
This is another well-written book from one of our top nature writers in the country. I liked the way that he has used a little artistic licence to pick a suitable bird for the non-avian related gifts in the song. The logic behind these choices is clearly explained and the way that he uses anecdotes from folklore and history to expand on his chosen bird for each line in the song. A great little book which would suit anyone with an interest in nature or wants a Christmas themed book with a little more depth.
For example, for the present of Five Gold Rings, he has discovered that the Yellowhammer has an old Scottish folk-name of ‘yoldring’. It is this and similar corruptions to our language that have meant that he has been able to take an educated guess as to what the other birds might have been in the song. So for twelve drummers drumming he has chosen woodpeckers and for ten lords a-leaping, cranes were chosen.
This is another well-written book from one of our top nature writers in the country. I liked the way that he has used a little artistic licence to pick a suitable bird for the non-avian related gifts in the song. The logic behind these choices is clearly explained and the way that he uses anecdotes from folklore and history to expand on his chosen bird for each line in the song. A great little book which would suit anyone with an interest in nature or wants a Christmas themed book with a little more depth.
December 19, 2021
A really informative read using the carol The Twelves Days of Christmas in highlighting twelve British birds.
I learnt the birds history, behaviour, habitats, ecology and folklore.
Some were obvious and others loose interpretations.
A great Christmas choice for nature lovers.
I learnt the birds history, behaviour, habitats, ecology and folklore.
Some were obvious and others loose interpretations.
A great Christmas choice for nature lovers.
January 13, 2020
I adored Stephen Moss' The Wren: A Biography, which I read quite recently, and was keen to get my hands on a copy of The Twelve Birds of Christmas. The idea behind it is rather charming; Moss tells 'the enthralling story of twelve iconic British birds' by 'playing on one of our best-known carols'. Like The Wren, this proved to be another firm favourite of mine, and it was the perfect tome to kick off my Christmas reading with.
In The Twelve Birds of Christmas, Moss has given an avian interpretation to the famous Christmas carol, 'The Twelve Days of Christmas', which first appeared in its written form around 1780. He personally describes it as 'endlessly parodied, highly memorable and occasionally infuriating'. Together with his own commentary, 'he weaves history, culture, bird behaviour and folklore into a compelling narrative for each species', and traces their fortunes over the centuries since the carol first appeared.
To anyone who knows the carol already, birds feature heavily, but Moss asked himself whether the entire carol could really be about our avian friends. He muses: '... I look beneath the surface of this familiar carol, and reveal what I believe is an alternative meaning to the verses. For in my view, every single one of the carol's dozen lines could plausibly be about a particular species of bird.'
The birds which Moss focuses on here are both rare and common in the United Kingdom. In turn, he writes about grey partridges, turtle doves, domestic chickens, blackbirds, yellowhammers, geese, mute swans, nightjars, cranes, black grouse, sandpipers, and woodpeckers. In each separate chapter, he weaves in observations made throughout history about his chosen birds. These largely come from naturalists who have influenced Moss' own career. He links each species rather cleverly to the original carol; the crane, for instance, has been selected to represent 'nine ladies dancing' because of its entrancing mating dance.
Focus has been placed upon the effects of individuals determined to reverse the decline of bird species, many of which have a current status which looks rather bleak. Of the turtle dove, for instance, Moss writes: 'Once so common that observers didn't even bother to send in records of the species, by the turn of the millennium it had disappeared as a breeding bird from the county' of Somerset, where Moss' home is located. Some of the birds featured in The Twelve Birds of Christmas have thankfully fared better; the blackbird, for example, is the fourth most numerous bird in Britain, and is 'present in 96 per cent of all the 3,862 10 kilometre squares in Britain and Ireland, in both summer and winter.'
Throughout, Moss touches upon so many different elements of bird life: the domestication of birds by humans; the migratory patterns of different species; folklore; and the effects of climate change and the destruction of habitats on bird numbers. The chapters are relatively short, but the book itself is undoubtedly thorough.
The Twelve Birds of Christmas is a darling book, even lovelier than it sounds. Gloriously illustrated throughout, and impeccably researched, Moss gives such attention to detail. His enthusiasm for nature shines through on every single page. His prose is rich and captivating, and it is so easy to read.
The structure which Moss has fitted his twelve birds around works wonderfully, and he certainly makes an engaging argument. The Twelve Birds of Christmas is a really great, and slightly alternative, book to pick up for Christmas, from a man who is fast becoming one of my favourite nature writers.
In The Twelve Birds of Christmas, Moss has given an avian interpretation to the famous Christmas carol, 'The Twelve Days of Christmas', which first appeared in its written form around 1780. He personally describes it as 'endlessly parodied, highly memorable and occasionally infuriating'. Together with his own commentary, 'he weaves history, culture, bird behaviour and folklore into a compelling narrative for each species', and traces their fortunes over the centuries since the carol first appeared.
To anyone who knows the carol already, birds feature heavily, but Moss asked himself whether the entire carol could really be about our avian friends. He muses: '... I look beneath the surface of this familiar carol, and reveal what I believe is an alternative meaning to the verses. For in my view, every single one of the carol's dozen lines could plausibly be about a particular species of bird.'
The birds which Moss focuses on here are both rare and common in the United Kingdom. In turn, he writes about grey partridges, turtle doves, domestic chickens, blackbirds, yellowhammers, geese, mute swans, nightjars, cranes, black grouse, sandpipers, and woodpeckers. In each separate chapter, he weaves in observations made throughout history about his chosen birds. These largely come from naturalists who have influenced Moss' own career. He links each species rather cleverly to the original carol; the crane, for instance, has been selected to represent 'nine ladies dancing' because of its entrancing mating dance.
Focus has been placed upon the effects of individuals determined to reverse the decline of bird species, many of which have a current status which looks rather bleak. Of the turtle dove, for instance, Moss writes: 'Once so common that observers didn't even bother to send in records of the species, by the turn of the millennium it had disappeared as a breeding bird from the county' of Somerset, where Moss' home is located. Some of the birds featured in The Twelve Birds of Christmas have thankfully fared better; the blackbird, for example, is the fourth most numerous bird in Britain, and is 'present in 96 per cent of all the 3,862 10 kilometre squares in Britain and Ireland, in both summer and winter.'
Throughout, Moss touches upon so many different elements of bird life: the domestication of birds by humans; the migratory patterns of different species; folklore; and the effects of climate change and the destruction of habitats on bird numbers. The chapters are relatively short, but the book itself is undoubtedly thorough.
The Twelve Birds of Christmas is a darling book, even lovelier than it sounds. Gloriously illustrated throughout, and impeccably researched, Moss gives such attention to detail. His enthusiasm for nature shines through on every single page. His prose is rich and captivating, and it is so easy to read.
The structure which Moss has fitted his twelve birds around works wonderfully, and he certainly makes an engaging argument. The Twelve Birds of Christmas is a really great, and slightly alternative, book to pick up for Christmas, from a man who is fast becoming one of my favourite nature writers.
December 4, 2023
Quick review: fascinating quick read into the traditional Christmas song 'The Twelve Days of Christmas' and the link to British birds. Stephen Moss knows his stuff, and he presents his facts in an entertaining and passionate way. I've always loved birds, and watching them in my garden, and this just solidified how much joy can be had from hearing a bird sing in the early morning. It also touches on agricultural issues and the decline in several of our important birds, such as the turtle dove and the grey partridge, who are in real risk of becoming extinct in the near future. Farming and urbanisation has a lot to answer for.
December 17, 2021
This book wasn’t exactly what I was expecting but a good book nonetheless. The framework (by chapter) covers the old Christmas Carol, The Twelve Days of Christmas. The Carol is very familiar in North America but the birds are not necessarily. In the introduction Moss explains how after consideration, it is his feeling that this song published in 1780 has as a subject 12 bird gifts to a true love. He plainly admits that others have thought otherwise. I’ve always thought the lyrics were odd, but the author’s approach is plausible.
Unfortunately for me, very little is about the song and very much is about English birds I’m not familiar with. The Twelve Birds of Christmas has a chapter for each gift that is outright a bird or has a spot in the song that could through mistaken retelling or quirk of language or dialect represent a bird. Some of the birds just have habits that could make them possible candidates. Lords a leaping could be Black Grouse doing their mating dance.
I actually prefer the visual of Scotsmen in kilts piping away but understand the author and his birds. It would make the gift slightly more compact. A brief history is given for each bird, including its place in lore, music, poetry and literature. A large part of each chapter speaks to the present health and more often plight of the birds. Several birds are likely soon to go the way of the dodo. Many are in severe decline for the usual reasons, changed farming methods, decline of habitat, warming, pesticides etc.
Unfortunately for me, very little is about the song and very much is about English birds I’m not familiar with. The Twelve Birds of Christmas has a chapter for each gift that is outright a bird or has a spot in the song that could through mistaken retelling or quirk of language or dialect represent a bird. Some of the birds just have habits that could make them possible candidates. Lords a leaping could be Black Grouse doing their mating dance.
I actually prefer the visual of Scotsmen in kilts piping away but understand the author and his birds. It would make the gift slightly more compact. A brief history is given for each bird, including its place in lore, music, poetry and literature. A large part of each chapter speaks to the present health and more often plight of the birds. Several birds are likely soon to go the way of the dodo. Many are in severe decline for the usual reasons, changed farming methods, decline of habitat, warming, pesticides etc.
December 30, 2020
A lovely interpretation of the famous Christmas carol. I came away with several fun facts about birds for my family and a new appreciation for the nightjar. Not particularly beautiful writing though, and I wish maps of the birds’ migration patterns had been included when there was much discussion of it, as in the sandpiper chapter.
December 16, 2023
Вдъхновена от популярната коледна песен "The twelve days of Christmas", авторът представя 12 местни птици, по една за всеки ред от песента. Само заглавието на книгата е коледно, от там нататък е информация и фолклор за тези 12 птици, които е избрал, че коренспондират най-добре с отделните редове на песента.
Определено е интересна книгата и научих нещо ново за познати птици и непознати. Книгата ме накара и да осъзная колко е тъжно, че в България я няма тази традиция да се вълнуваш и грижиш за природата и животните Никога докато бях в България не ми е минавало през ум да храня птиците, а тук съм като по часовник - първо слагам храна на птиците и катериците и тогава храня себе си или правя каквото имам да правя. Тъжно е, защото връзката с природата и животните, те обогатява и определено те прави по-добър човек и като цяло хората те дразнят по-малко. Но, уви, докато хората в България са подложени на толкова много финансов и всякакъв стрес, няма как да мислим за природата и птиците ни. :/
Определено е интересна книгата и научих нещо ново за познати птици и непознати. Книгата ме накара и да осъзная колко е тъжно, че в България я няма тази традиция да се вълнуваш и грижиш за природата и животните Никога докато бях в България не ми е минавало през ум да храня птиците, а тук съм като по часовник - първо слагам храна на птиците и катериците и тогава храня себе си или правя каквото имам да правя. Тъжно е, защото връзката с природата и животните, те обогатява и определено те прави по-добър човек и като цяло хората те дразнят по-малко. Но, уви, докато хората в България са подложени на толкова много финансов и всякакъв стрес, няма как да мислим за природата и птиците ни. :/
February 12, 2021
I learned so much about birds and the needs they have to survive; and how we, humans, have destroyed their natural life patterns when they already have predators. The birds in this book are from the song for Christmas. I always thought five golden rings, were rings, like you wear, not the case. The Yellowhammers are those birds! I also found it interesting that where I live we still have several of these birds, that I am very grateful for and won't chop down the wild grass we have beside our home. Who knew, well this book helped me. Great and enjoyable winter read
November 2, 2024
I really liked that this book discussed all of the birds that could be the items in the twelve days of Christmas song. I liked learning snippets about each bird, much of it I have not heard about before. The writing was really accessible and I flew through my read. Very much looking to read more from Stephen Moss and developing my understanding and interest in birds further.
December 14, 2024
Wonderful book
February 16, 2025
I’ve yet to find any writing by Stephen Moss that isn’t both fascinating and brilliant to read! This book takes the famous Christmas Carol, ‘The Twelve Days of Christmas’ and makes an interesting argument that each of the gifts in the song is actually referring to a bird (some very interesting research into old names and nicknames for birds). Each bird is then given a chapter and its history and information about it is provided. So much information and so highly readable. Another book to add to my yearly Christmas re-readings.
December 26, 2021
I thought this was really great! Because of the fact that there are twelve sections, each one is not too long and reads quite quickly, which means the whole book is very fast paced. I found the mix of folklore, biology and human interactions with these birds to be very engaging and interesting. I found most of Moss' reasoning as to why each gift was a bird to be in parts convincing and in other parts to be somewhat of a stretch. But that's not really the important part - more important is how interesting and engaging the sections are.
December 20, 2023
A short but diverting read. The author's on solid ground in trying to interpret the Christmas song as an avian paean up to the swans-a-swimming but after that the connections become somewhat tenuous. Nevertheless it's an interesting thesis.
November 4, 2025
I enjoyed this very much, although I did find some of the author's theories about the birds which could be the inspiration for the later, apparently human 'gifts' to be a bit of a stretch sometimes. Altough it is a charming quick read for the Christmas period, I did find the plight of many of these birds rather depressing, especially because in the main their struggles are down to human beings in one way or another. The black and white illustrations, taken from a range of old books, are delightful, but I would have appreciated some colour plates as well, if only to supplement the depictions on the cover of the book.
Overall though a delightful, informative little book, ideal for a Christmas stocking.
Overall though a delightful, informative little book, ideal for a Christmas stocking.
July 10, 2020
I read this book in summer because I couldn’t wait. And it doesn’t matter - the book itself is about birds and not about Christmas. It’s a lovely, as well as brutally honest, book about twelve different bird species. All very different, all beautiful and fascinating. The book is heart-warming and occasionally heartbreaking at the same time, because more than anything, Stephen Moss shows us that we are not doing enough to help these birds survive. In fact, it is us humans that are driving most of these species to extinction.
December 28, 2022
This book can be read at any time of the year and not just at Christmas. The author has wonderfully woven the biology, behavior, and history of twelve birds in the UK that have seen a decline in their population over the years. Being an optimist, the author hopes that the rise in bird lovers, naturalists, and conservationists will manage to reverse these declines.
The twelve birds mentioned in this book were once a common sight in the UK. Reading about their history, biology and the anecdotes from author's birding experience is an absolute delight.
The twelve birds mentioned in this book were once a common sight in the UK. Reading about their history, biology and the anecdotes from author's birding experience is an absolute delight.
January 7, 2025
This book was really fun! He makes a really good case for the idea that the "12 Days of Christmas" song is all about birds, but that is really beside the point - the point is to celebrate 12 amazing birds. Essentially I chose to start on the winter solstice and read about one bird every day for the 12 days of Yule. Some of the sections were more engaging than others, especially where he was really able to really integrate scientific, historical and cultural details about the birds. He also made a point to focus extensively on the conservation status of each bird, which was incredibly important and in many cases really sad. There were a few sections that could have been more developed, but overall I was entertained. Since the writer and the christmas carol are both English, it is very much about how these birds are in England, so there is quite a bit of reference to the landscape/culture/history there that may feel even more significant if you live in England or the UK, but I did not find it limiting in any way. Overall an enjoyable read.
January 1, 2021
This was a interesting read using the premise of the carol The Twelves Days of Christmas in highlighting twelve birds. I really enjoyed the style of writing, the history of the bird, information on the bird itself and its place in folklore. It was a quick, easy to follow read and I highly recommend to bird lovers and nature lovers alike. I am interested in reading other books by Stephen Moss and will definitely be reading his book The Robin as they are my favourite bird.
November 19, 2024
A really lovely, gentle but informative book to start my festive reading for the season. I found the subject matter fascinating and the writing engaging. With natural history, I can sometimes struggle to get into a book but no such issues with this one. I'm going to miss reading it every night and I hope it's one I come back to in years to come
January 7, 2020
Top marks. Absolutely charming book, which covered both my interest in Wildlife and my interest in history. Stephen Moss covers 12 birds based on the Carol The 12 days of Christmas, interspersing interesting information about each bird with equally fascinating history facts. What's not to love.
January 25, 2020
Received this as an Xmas present from my wife after we had heard about it by way of an interview with Stephen Moss on Scala radio.
An excellent premise for a book, a delight to read. Particularly liked the links with folk lore and old British terms and places.
An excellent premise for a book, a delight to read. Particularly liked the links with folk lore and old British terms and places.
December 29, 2023
A very enjoyable read. A little fanciful, perhaps, linking each of the gifts in the carol to a different British bird. But why not, it was a great way to spend time engaging with these birds and learning about them. 😊
January 1, 2024
This was a book group choice that I would not otherwise have read. It hasn't persuaded me to seek out others by this author. It feels like a contrived go at exploiting the Christmas spending frenzy.
The mix of history, ecology and social commentary never quite made it to interesting.
The mix of history, ecology and social commentary never quite made it to interesting.
March 27, 2025
Charming and imaginative treatment of the old nursery rhyme. If you wanted to find a good Christmas present for someone thinking of getting into birds and birdwatching, this would be a high recommendation.
December 26, 2025
A fun and interesting way to learn about some British birds! I decided to read one bird leading up to Christmas for an added experience! I know a lot about birds, so for me it was interesting to see the cultural relevance that they all hold (versus just ecology/biology). A great choice if you want a book that gives you a little of everything for each bird mentioned.
December 22, 2020
A very readable avian take on the 12 Days of Christmas. Includes insights into the life of these twelve birds and also their place in British folklore.
November 7, 2021
Gentle natural history read. Not just for Christmas!
January 1, 2022
Just wonderful, fascinating detail of folklore, history and behaviour of our wonderful birds all linked to the gifts given in the Christmas carol. The perfect gift for bird lovers.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews