Birds on a wire

[True blue]

Why can birds sit on an electric cable and not get electrocuted ?

[Clanad]

You wouldn't get electrocuted if you sat on a single electric line either... basically, electricity follows the path of least resistance, so it  "chooses" to continue going through the line, which is metal and has far less resistance than the bird (or you)... This is true only if the bird (or you) continues to sit on only one line...

[Noweia]

Clanad is correct - as soon as you touch another wire, or the ground, then you get electrocuted as the current flows to earth.