Response to intruder number is related to quantity discrimination performance in a wild bird
Data files
Aug 27, 2025 version files 90.14 KB
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2023NA_no2v21.csv
51.94 KB
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2023NA.csv
25.14 KB
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NAPB_cog.csv
2.38 KB
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NAPB.csv
2.05 KB
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rawmotivationmetrics.csv
1.84 KB
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README.md
5.96 KB
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repeatabilityoftotalscores.csv
825 B
Abstract
Quantity discrimination abilities are considered a valuable skill for many aspects of life, including foraging, predator avoidance, and intergroup contests. Two types of experiments are often utilised to detect such abilities in animals: cognitive tasks in which individuals must choose between two quantities of food, and playback experiments of the vocalisations of differing numbers of intruding individuals. To date, no study has investigated whether individual performance in these two types of experiments is related. We presented wild Western Australian magpies (Gymnorhina tibicen dorsalis) with both a spontaneous quantity discrimination cognitive task and a playback experiment, to investigate quantity discrimination abilities, and to explore if performance on these experiments is related. We found that magpies (a) selected the greater quantity of food in the cognitive task and (b) responded more strongly to the playback of three callers compared to one caller, suggesting this species possesses quantity discrimination abilities. Individual performance on these two experiments was negatively correlated, with magpies that performed better on the cognitive task spending less time vigilant following the three-caller playback compared to magpies that performed worse. Our results highlight the importance of exploring the relationship between performance in a cognitive task and ecologically relevant behaviours, as this has the potential to offer profound insights into cognitive ecology.
Blackburn G; Ashton BJ; Hunter H; Ridley AR
Corresponding author email: g.blackburn@cqu.edu.au
Data was collected between March and July in 2022 and 2023 on an established study population of Western Australian magpies located in Crawley and Guildford, Perth, Western Australia.
Dataset DOI: 10.5061/dryad.4qrfj6qps
Description of the data and file structure
This study investigates the quantity discrimination of Western Australian magpies using both a cognitive task and a playback experiment. Data includes cognitive testing from two years (2022 and 2023) on a spontaneous quantity discrimination task, and playback experiments from one year presenting birds with the territorial songs of 1, 2, and 3 calling extra-group conspecifics.
Files and variables
File: repeatabilityoftotalscores.csv
Description: This file is used to test for long-term repeatability in cognitive performance.
Variables
- bird: bird identity
- group: group identity
- pass: the total number of times that birds chose the larger quantity of food out of the total of 45 trials (15 2 vs 3 trials, 15 2 vs 4 trials, and 15 2 vs 5 trials).
- fail: the total number of times that birds chose the smaller quantity of food out of the total of 45 trials (15 2 vs 3 trials, 15 2 vs 4 trials, and 15 2 vs 5 trials).
- year: year of testing
File: 2023NA.csv
Description: This file is used to check for a possible side bias in the control 2 vs 2 trials, as well as to check if birds are selecting the larger amount more often than random in the 2 vs 3, 2 vs 4, and 2 vs 5 trials.
Variables
- BIRD.ID: bird identity
- GROUP: group identity
- COMBINATION: ratio (2 v 2, 2 v 3, 2 v 4, 2 v 5)
- SIDE CHOICE: whether the individual chose the board on their left or their right
- CHOOSE LARGER?: whether individuals chose the larger quantity of food
File: 2023NA_no2v21.csv
Description: Control 2 vs 2 trials have been removed, and this file contains only 2 vs 3, 2 vs 4, and 2 vs 5 trials.
Variables
- BIRD.ID: bird identity
- GROUP: group identity
- SEX: sex of the bird
- A_GROUP_SIZE: adult group size
- WEATHER: weather condition (cloudy or clear)
- TEMPERATURE: temperature during testing (°C)
- NEOPHOBIA: latency to interact with the task (seconds)
- COMBINATION: ratio (2 v 2, 2 v 3, 2 v 4, 2 v 5)
- SIDE CHOICE: whether the individual chose the board on their left or their right
- CHOOSE LARGER?: whether individuals chose the larger quantity of food
- MASS: average body mass of the bird (g)
- Feffort: average foraging effort of the bird (proportion of time spent foraging out of focal time)
- Fefficiency: average foraging efficiency of the bird (grams of prey caught in time spent foraging)
File: NAPB.csv
Description: This file is used to investigate factors affecting response to playbacks of one, two, and three callers.
Variables
- BIRD.ID: bird identity
- GROUP: group identity
- SEX: sex of the bird
- A_GROUP_SIZE: adult group size
- TREATMENT: playback treatment (one caller, two callers, or three callers)
- TRACK_ORDER: order in which tracks were presented to individuals
- SEX_RATIO: composition of playback call (focal birds' sex / total callers in treatment)
- CHORUS_LENGTH: length of carol or chorus presented in the playback track (seconds)
- VIGPREPB: time spent vigilant pre-playback (seconds)
- VIGPOSTPB: time spent vigilant post-playback (seconds)
- SONGS: number of carols sung post-playback
- APPROACHSPEAKER?: whether individuals approached the speaker post-playback
File: NAPB_cog.csv
Description: This file is used to investigate if performance on the numerical assessment cognitive task is related to response to numerical assessment playbacks.
Variables
- BIRD.ID: bird identity
- GROUP: group identity
- SEX: sex of the bird
- AGSIZE: adult group size
- TREATMENT: playback treatment (one caller, two callers, or three callers)
- TRACK_ORDER: order in which tracks were presented to individuals
- SEX_RATIO: composition of playback call (focal birds' sex / total callers in treatment)
- CHORUS_LENGTH: length of carol or chorus presented in the playback track (seconds)
- VIGPREPB: time spent vigilant pre-playback (seconds)
- VIGPOSTPB: time spent vigilant post-playback (seconds)
- PROPVIG: proportion of time spent vigilant post-playback
- SONGS: number of carols sung post-playback
- APPROACHSPEAKER?: whether individuals approached the speaker post-playback
- TOTAL_SCORE: total numerical assessment score
File: rawmotivationmetrics.csv
Description: This file contains the raw data used to calculate average body mass, foraging effort, and foraging efficiency for the 2023 cognitive tests. Birds were focalled and weighed between 1 and 3 times during the testing period, and these measures were averaged to give average foraging effort, foraging efficiency, and body mass over the 15-day testing period.
Variables
- BIRD.ID: bird identity
- GROUP: group identity
- SEX: sex of the bird
- mass1, mass2, and mass3: raw body mass measurements (g)
- Feffort1, Feffort2, and Feffort 3: raw foraging effort metrics calculated from focal (proportion of time spent foraging out of focal time)
- Fefficiency1, Fefficiency2, and Fefficiency3: raw foraging efficiency metrics calculated from focals (grams of prey caught in time spent foraging)
- MASS (average): average body mass of the bird (g)
- Feffort (average): average foraging effort of the bird (proportion of time spent foraging out of focal time)
- Fefficiency (average): average foraging efficiency of the bird (grams of prey caught in time spent foraging)
- no.focals: number of focals for that bird used to calculate average metrics