why do birds sit in the same direction on power lines like they are all waiting for something to happen?

Question

I have noticed drving down the road that most of the birds when they are in a group will be pointing in the same direction, (most). I like to mess with the kids when we are in the car so I will ask silly questions like that to keep them entertained, but then I started really wondering. Seem weird, but I try to stay on top of the responses to the weird car quesitons like about the birds.

Answer 1

lol very good question I think it's instinct :)

Answer 2

Good question. I went researching for the answer. It's been asked on another forum but no one has posted an answer, I will get an email when they do.

Check out this site, http://wiki.answers.com
pretty interesting, and it also tells you why birds do not get electrocuted on the wires. Shock the kids with that information! ☺
Why do birds sit on high wires all facing the same direction?

I used to tell the kids silly stories to keep them entertained while we were riding. It was fun when they were very little and believed my nonsense. I told them that I was the one who invented french fries, helped move the Statue of Liberty here from France, crazy things like that. It was even more fun a few years later when one of them would remember a particular tall tale I had told them, their expressions were priceless! Now they are grown and they still laugh about it.

At Christmas, one will say to the other, "Hey remember when Mom invented snow???" and they bust a gut laughing at how gullible they were.

Answer 3

It's not that their waiting for something to happen. Birds like any other animal have their protective instincts. If they all stay in a line facing the same way, they feel more protected in the environment that they are in. Also when they are sitting on a branch, power line etc, they will always be facing the same way 98% of the time. If you really watch over the days with this with different birds and in different area's you will see that all birds are a little different in how they appear on their "sitting" habits. With the type of birds that sit on the power lines, they will do that repetitive thing, as for other birds like blue jays etc, will not. Its nature my dear. Something that god made, and god made well. I also raise and breed cockatiels. Good luck in your quest with other answers. I hope this has helped in some ways. Also, there are lots of website to look on that will help you understand more on this subject. Try that also.

Piper

Answer 4

Ha! Good question! Was going to say very rarely do I see one facing the opposite way, but wish I could get a pic, but when I stop, they fly away. Makes me think of the 'Dare to be Different' saying. Could it be wind direction; watching a hawk or something? Hmmm. I wonder. Or are they watching us making dumb remarks about how we look? :) "See how many people are talking to themselves" "Why do people talk on those phones all the time?"........That'd be a good one to ask the kids, "What are those birds saying about us you think?" Mine also got a kick out of stopping along a herd of cows, rolling down the window and asking them if I'm on the right road and they MOOOO at me. The kids think that's hillarious.

Answer 5

Isn't that creepy? I always think of the Alfred Hitchcock movie "The Birds" when I see them lined up like that. Guess they all flew in from the same direction, so that's why they face the same way, but could be some sort of birdie politeness not to show your neighbor on the wire your posterior.

Answer 6

I was wondering the same thing. I live in Dallas, Texas and I saw the birds facing the south. I know it has to be a meaning behind this.

Answer 7

I think they're just hanging out waiting for the others in their group to catch up with them before taking off again. Sometimes I imagine they are waiting to bomb car as they drive past (you know, the way they bomb your car if you park under a light at the store).

Answer 8

Either they are facing INTO the wind (to keep their feathers from being ruffled) or they ARE watching something together. Many birds will face a field, waiting for mice or bugs, so they can pounce.

Answer 9

The electricity in the cables creates a magnetic field, this in turn forces the birds to face south or north depending in which hemisphere there in..

Answer 10

because they are waiting for something...no, hmm, well, they all fly the same way in a group, birds seem to always do the same thing in a group and that just happens to be one of them i gess....watch the beginning of monsters inc. =D it has these really cute birds on a telephone wire

Answer 11

I'm pretty sure it's so they can pick out the next car to S&#! on. I dont have much proof besides the fact that my car is covered in bird s&#!.