Birdwatch: the mystery of the partridge and the pear tree

It is disappearing from our countryside, but what is the real story behind its inclusion in the famous carol?

"On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me"" I bet you're already singing the next line: "a partridge in a pear tree!" The Twelve Days of Christmas is one of our best-known Christmas carols, even if its repetitive format does sometimes drive us round the bend.

But what of the partridge itself? When I was growing up on the edge of London, the grey partridge was, if not exactly common, a fairly regular sight. If I took a trip to East Anglia, they were ten a penny. Nowadays, I struggle to find them anywhere.