Why does a bird not get electrocuted on sitting on a live wire?

   A bird sitting on a live wire will get electrocuted only if electric current passes through its body. We can compare flow of electricity through a body to flow of water through a pipe or tube. Water will always flow from a higher level to a lower level. Similarly electric current will always flow or pass through from a higher potential or voltage level to a lower potential level. We can take two wires running on poles through a street. One wire which we can live will be at a potential of 230 volts which is called the phase wire and the other one which we call the neutral wire will be at a potential of zero volts. Immediately on sitting on the live wire the bird’s potential will also be raised to 230 volts and if by an accident it comes in contact with the neutral wire or touches it, a current will pass through its body from the live wire which is at a higher potential to the neutral wire which is at zero potential.

 Birds, animals, and human beings can withstand flow of a certain amount of electric current only through their bodies and excess flow of current will cause immediate death.

In the present case the flow of current throngs the bird’s body will be enormous and the bird will probably get burnt to death.

   If two crows, one sitting on the live wire and the other sitting on the neutral wire, happen to touch each other, both will meet the same fate as the bird mentioned above and will get electrocuted. But if both the sit on the live wire side by side and touch each other nothing will happen as both the crows will be at the same voltage level of 230 volts and there will be no flow of current through their bodies.