how many birds in the twelve days of christmas

There are actually 78 birds in the song "The Twelve Days of Christmas." It's quite a bit more than you'd expect, isn't it? The first day of Christmas, you get one partridge in a pear tree. Then, on the second day, you get two turtle doves and a partridge in a pear tree. On the third day, you get three French hens, two turtle doves, and a partridge in a pear tree. It continues like this all the way through the twelfth day. By the end, you have 12 drummers drumming, 11 pipers