Early versions of the song have shown a considerable variation in the wording of line 4. The 1780 version has “four colly birds” — colly being a regional English word for black like coal.
In the 19th century, “canary birds”, “colour’d birds”, “curley birds” and “corley birds” are found in its place. Frederic Austin’s 1909 version also altered the fourth day’s gift to four “calling” birds, and this variant has become the most popular, although “colly” is still found.
In keeping with their unique perspective on lyrics, the Furkids chose a different critter for their fourth day. Hmmm, I wonder what it could be…
If you missed the first three days, you can catch up with them here:
First Day of Catmas
Second Day of Catmas
Third Day of Catmas
Thanks to our dedicated coin gatherers, the jukebox is primed and ready for the fourth day. Just press play, scroll down to the lyrics and sing along!
Tune in tomorrow for the Fifth Day of Catmas!
Furkids would really appreciate some frothy milks from ko-fi.com/furkids for Catmas. They love licking up frothy moustaches. You can treat them for just $3/€3/£3. All proceeds go towards Loula’s healthcare, with our heartfelt gratitude to all contributors. 
You can now follow Furkids at Blue Sky: @thefurkids.bsky.social
and Michelle too: @michelleelle.bsky.social
