For bird which spends most of its day flying in search of food or migrating to places with a climate more favorable to its survival, any place is good for rest. Thus, the framework high voltage cables who often travel from end to end of the places they frequent, for us it is practically the same as a huge park full of shaded benches on which to rest after a long walk.
However, sometimes seeing them sitting Happy talk about them makes us feel uneasy, thinking about the possibility that they could be electrocuted. But this is unnecessary nervousness; because, fortunately, this usually does not happen. There are those who think that this is because their feet have safety pads that insulate them from any electrical shock, but in fact the reason is something else and has to do with the way they current flows through wiring or any other object that gets in its way.
Relaxation without loading
The electric current circulating inside the cables consists of electrons flow always in the simplest way. This means that they “prefer” conductive materials that resist little resistance on its way like copper. However, if this path is broken, they will look for an alternative to continue the journey. For example, if a cable is cut with tin snips, they will no longer be able to monitor it. But they will go towards the scissors and from them to the person holding them, and then to the ground. They also tend to move to areas of different tension. From a place with more to a place with less, thanks to a phenomenon known as potential difference. What does all this have to do with birds?
When a bird sits on a wire and electricity reaches one of its legs, the electrons have two options: continue flowing through the copper, oblivious to the animal, or circulate through its body, from one leg to the other. . The animal’s body is not a good conductor, so it is much easier for the current to follow the wire.
Danger to birds
It would be quite different if the cable were placed very low and the bird could touch the ground with another part of its body, or if, on the contrary, two cables were placed very close to each other, so that it could lean on one and touch the other. wings, for example. In this case, your body will serve as a shortcut for the current to pass through. from cable to ground or to another cable different voltages. In both options, there is a potential difference that makes the poor bird a good option for electron flow.
That is why the pillars are usually placed quite far from each other. Thus, even the largest birds cannot touch two cables at the same time. Otherwise, the search for rest by raptors and other large birds could have a sad outcome.
Source: Hiper Textual
