I Wonder Why – Why Birds Don’T Get Electrocuted?

Why does a bird not get an electric shock when it sits on a live wire? 

● The Two wires in an electric post are kept in different potentials. 

● One Wire, which we call life, will be at a high potential and it is a Phase wire. The 

other wire is neutral and its potential is zero.

● When  a  bird  perches  on  the  live  wire,  her  body  becomes  charged  for  the 

moment, it’s at the same voltage as the wire. But no current flows into her body.

● But if a bird accidentally touches an electrical “ground” while in contact with the 

high voltage wire, she gets an electric shock.

● A ground is a region of approximately zero voltage.  The earth, and anything 

touching it that can conduct current, is the ground.