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Dryad

Data from: Startling ravens (Corvus corax) at foraging: differences in anti-predator behaviour can be explained by age rather than personality

Abstract

Background: This study investigated boldness-shyness as a personality trait in free-flying ravens. Through the utilisation of audio playbacks of aerial or ground-dwelling predators, designed to elicit a startle response in the birds, we sought to elucidate the influence of between-individual behavioural differences, stimulus type, age and sex on ravens’ startle responses.

Analysis: We analysed nine boldness-shyness related behaviour variables for (1) consistent between-individual differences by using the R functions ICC and rptr, (2) for influences of stimulus type, age and sex through linear mixed models (LMMs) and bootstrap-coupled estimation plots and (3) possiblem habituation effects by calculating the delta between each trial a bird participated in and afterwards entering these deltas into LMMs as well.

Results: Our findings do not corroborate boldness-shyness as a consistent personality trait in free- flying ravens, however, they indicate that the manifestation of boldness in this species could be shaped by age and type of stimulus.