Larry, your contribution to this discussion was anything but boring!  My
chuckles evolved into a good laugh.  Thanks.

When I was very young (more than half a century ago, that's as much as
anyone needs to know), I asked the very same question: why do birds space
themselves so evenly?  Power lines wasn't part of the question, as most of
the time I saw birds lining up on branches of large trees, ravine ledges,
roof ridges,  or fence lines.  Sometimes my grandmother's clothesline, but
she frowned on that, so they never got to stay for long.  Power lines were
few and far between where I grew up until a decade or so later.  Birds have
been doing this for a lot longer than there have been power lines, for sure!

My grandfather, an old hill-country farmer, gave a very common-sense answer
to my question that made sense to me then, and still does: like people,
grown birds like a certain amount of space around them.  In the winter, they
tolerate more closeness, and hang around in flocks to facilitate finding
food and staying warm.  But they still have a "comfort zone", and will
adjust how close they are when perching, depending on both some internal
sense of bird propriety and environmental conditions.  The colder it is, the
closer they will stand together in line, and they nearly always face into
the wind.   If it's dang cold, they huddle wing to wing to cut down on wind
loss.

My casual observations suggest that he was right (I've never bothered to
look it up, as I still assume my grandfather was right about everything).
Power lines just make a handy substitute for limbs, fences, ridgelines, and
cliff faces.

If you see a bird facing the opposite way from the wind in a long line of
birds, assume that bird is below average in bird intelligence (not saying
much), and might not be around for the spring territorial discussions for
breeding territory.

FWIW...

Dayle Ann
Proctor (where goldfinches and cardinals arrange themselves very
artistically in the sun at even intervals on the tips of our overgrown cedar
hedge)

Larry Hills wrote:
 > I wonder whether it is the doves' lining up on wires or their attraction
 > to them in the first place that sparks (sorry) the dispute in Mr.
 > Gilbert's family.  I have nothing to offer about the whole shoulder to
 > shoulder shtick beyond some vague hand-waving about solidarity among
 > birds suffering from a moderate to severe respect deficit, but I can say
 > that electrical wires wouldn't make particularly satisfactory foot
 > warmers. <snipped for brevity>