Free To Perch
However, this also explains why birds can safely sit on power lines. The winged creatures can perch on the wire without feeling the deadly surge because electricity won’t leave the lines unless it has a path into the ground. They do have issues if they come into contact with two wires at once or if they come into contact with both a line and the wooden poles that hold it up at the same time.

Free To Perch
Protecting Our Feathered Friends
Fortunately, power companies have taken precautions to protect our feathered friends, increasing the distance between lines so that birds do not sit on two wires simultaneously. As a result, crows, pigeons, and other birds of their ilk are perfectly safe to spend time up there, as you’ve undoubtedly witnessed.

Protecting Our Feathered Friends