Two turtle doves are mentioned in “The Twelve Days of Christmas.”
They are the second gift named in the traditional English Christmas carol, following the partridge in a pear tree. The verse begins, “On the second day of Christmas, my true love sent to me,” and then introduces “two turtle doves.” Each later verse repeats the earlier gifts, so the doves appear repeatedly throughout the cumulative song.
That repetition creates a common mathematical mix-up. The lyric names two doves, but if every repeated verse is counted, the singer gives 22 turtle doves in total across the full song. The question asks for the number associated with the second day, so the canonical answer is two.
The song’s exact origins are uncertain. Its earliest known printed version appeared in England in the late eighteenth century, although the melody and wording evolved over time. “Turtle dove” refers to a small migratory dove species, not a turtle-like bird; the name comes from an old word related to the bird’s call.