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The total number of birds is actually only 23:
7 swans 6 geese 4 calling birds 3 French hens 2 turtledoves 1 partridge
But each day repeats the previous days birds
I never thought of each day including a completely new set of all the previous ones.
I always assumed it was just a recap. Why would you keep giving someone the same thing over and over?
No, it's pretty clear grammatically. "On the second day of Xmas my true love gave to me x AND y". That doesn't mean she got Y the day before.
Maybe the singer refuses the gift every time, so their true love keeps adding more
The "and" is always before the last item, the partridge in a pear tree, because it's at the end of the items that are being listed off. The singer is saying what they got that day and then recapping what they now have in total.
It can be interpreted the other way, of course, but I prefer this way because it just makes more sense. Hard enough to give someone 50 people compared to 140!
It's also a theory that all days are about birds https://blog.mybirdbuddy.com/post/the-twelve-days-of-christmas
It's the only interpretation of the song that makes any sort of sense. Which brings the total up to 364.
78 birds in total. They're all birds
First day of Christmas: 1 partridge in a pear tree
Second day of Christmas: 2 turtledoves
Third day of Christmas: 3 French hens
Fourth day of Christmas: 4 calling birds (blackbirds)
Fifth day of Christmas: 5 golden rings (pheasants)
Sixth day of Christmas: 6 geese a-laying
Seventh day of Christmas: 7 swans a-swimming
Eighth day of Christmas: 8 maids a-milking (magpies or cattle egret)
Ninth day of Christmas: 9 ladies dancing (lapwings)
Tenth day of Christmas: 10 lords a-leaping (cuckoos)
Eleventh day of Christmas: 11 pipers piping (sandpipers)
Twelfth day of Christmas: 12 drummers drumming (ruffled grouse)