Why Don’t Birds Get Electrocuted Sitting on Power Lines? The Science Explained!

We’ve all seen birds perched on power lines, looking completely relaxed. It seems incredible—electric wires carry powerful currents, yet these birds don’t get electrocuted. Why not?

Let’s break it down with simple science.

Electricity flows like water. It travels through wires from a place with high voltage (think of it as high pressure) to low voltage. For electricity to flow through a bird’s body, it would need a path from one voltage level to another.

But when a bird sits on only one wire, both of its feet are at the same electrical potential. There’s no voltage difference across its body. Without a difference in voltage, electricity has no reason to flow through the bird. That’s why it stays safe.

However, if the bird were to touch another wire with a different voltage, or touch the wire and a grounded object (like a pole or transformer) at the same time, it would create a path for electricity to travel through its body. In that case, the bird would get electrocuted.

So in short, birds stay safe because they’re only in contact with one wire at a time, keeping the voltage across their bodies equal.

Nature’s acrobats have figured out the perfect way to perch without getting zapped!