Why Do Birds Don’t Feel Electric Shock When Sitting on a Current-Carrying Wire?

Living beings, including birds, possess some degree of electrical conductivity. Bird claws, for example, are also conductive. A potential difference between two points is necessary for current to flow in a circuit. In an electrical circuit, current moves across a resistor due to the voltage drop, which creates this potential difference.

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Current flows only in a closed circuit, so for it to pass through a bird perched on a wire, there would need to be a potential difference between the bird's claws. However, since power lines maintain a constant voltage supply, the potential difference between the bird's claws is minimal or nonexistent. As a result, no current flows through the bird, and it is not electrocuted.