Data from: Startling ravens (Corvus corax) at foraging: differences in anti-predator behaviour can be explained by age rather than personality
Data files
Jul 15, 2025 version files 828.86 KB
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Bootstrap_antipredator.csv
1.10 KB
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Bootstrap_feeding_latency.csv
719 B
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Dataset_S1.csv
11.34 KB
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Dataset_S2.csv
754.44 KB
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Dataset_S3.csv
10.87 KB
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ICC_arrival.csv
104 B
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ICC_counts_antipred_corrected.csv
312 B
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ICC_dur_watching_corrected.csv
311 B
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ICC_feeding_corrected.csv
292 B
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ICC_feeding_latency.csv
107 B
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ICC_locomotion_corrected.csv
313 B
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ICC_presence_after_stimulus_corrected.csv
310 B
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ICC_presence_corrected.csv
313 B
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ICC_return_latency.csv
85 B
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README.md
24.48 KB
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Text_S1.txt
23.77 KB
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.
Dataset DOI: 10.5061/dryad.5mkkwh7hw
Description of the data and file structure
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) possible habituation effects by calculating the delta between each trial a bird participated in and afterwards entering these deltas into LMMs as well. These variables were:
Feeding latency, Return latency, Pre-stimulus arrival latency, Frequency of anti-predator behaviours, Time spent feeding, Time spent watching, Duration of presence in total, Duration of presence after stimulus and Locomotion duration.
Dataset contents: The data contains all raw data measured during the conduction of our playback experiment and behavioural coding of the resulting video footage (Dataset S1). It also contains curated datasets extracted from this raw data, which was used in the statistical analyses (Dataset S2, Dataset S3, ICC files with extracted data of only the first two individual trials per individual for each behaviour variable and measured data organized to run the bootstrap analysis in R).
Files and variables
Note: All .csv files are semicolon-delimited with a comma for a decimal.
File: Dataset_S3.csv
Description: Data used to calculate habituation effects. Cells annotated as "n/a" indicate missing data (i.e. the individual did not participate in this trial).
Variables
- Individual_Trial: Reports the order of trials from an individual view, as none of the 12 individuals joined all 10 trials. I.e., The 3rd trial that was conducted within the scope of this study might have been the first trial in which individual "Gluco" partook in. Therefore it would be marked with "Trial=3", but "Individual_Trial=1".
- Focal_ID: Name of the focal bird.
- Feeding_Latency: Latency until the focal bird resumed feeding on site after the playback [sec].
- Delta_Feeding_Latency: Difference in "Feeding_Latency" between two consecutive individual trials [sec].
- Return_Latency: Latency until the focal bird returned to the feeding site after flying away/ on a tree after hearing the startle playback [sec].
- Delta_Return_Latency: Difference in "Return_Latency" between two consecutive individual trials [sec].
- Arrival_Latency: Latency from the start of the trial until the focal bird landed in the experimental area for the first time [sec].
- Delta_Arrival_Latency: Difference in "Arrival_Latency" between two consecutive individual trials [sec].
- Events_anti-predator_corrected: Sum of all scored antipredator behaviours [counts], divided by the total video length.
- Delta_Events_anti-predator_corrected: Difference in "Events_anti-predator_corrected" between two consecutive individual trials [counts/sec].
- Duration_Feeding[sec]_corrected: Sum of all scored manipulate/eat food [sec] and pick/dig/walk and search [sec] instances, divided by the total video length.
- Delta_Duration_Feeding[sec]_corrected: Difference in "Duration_Feeding[sec]_corrected" between two consecutive individual trials [sec].
- Duration_watching[per_trail_sec]_corrected: Sum of all scored "wait and watch" instances [sec], divided by the total video length.
- Delta_Duration_watching[per_trail_sec]_corrected: Difference in "Duration_watching[per_trail_sec]_corrected" between two consecutive individual trials [sec].
- Duration_present_total_corrected: Trial duration [sec] minus "out of view" events and "Arrival_Latency" for the focal bird until the end of the trial or until "take off" and "move away" without returning occurred, divided by the total video length.
- Delta_Duration_present_total_corrected: Difference in "Duration_present_total_corrected" between two consecutive individual trials [sec].
- Duration_locomotion[per_trail_sec]_corrected: Sum of the durations of all instances of Locomotion behaviour for the focal bird during this trial [sec], divided by the total video length.
- Delta_Duration_locomotion[per_trail_sec]_corrected: Difference in "Duration_locomotion[per_trail_sec]_corrected" between two consecutive individual trials [sec].
- Duration_present_afterStimulus_corrected: Sum of the durations of all scored behaviours [sec] - excluding "out of view" events - after "Stimulus_start" and until the end of the trial or until "take off" and "move away" without returning occurred, divided by the total video length.
- Delta_Duration_present_afterStimulus_corrected:Difference in "Duration_present_afterStimulus_corrected" between two consecutive individual trials [sec].
File: Dataset_S2.csv
Description: Raw data
Variables
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Trial: Reports the order in which the trials were conducted; ranges from 1-10.
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Individual_Trial: Reports the order of trials from an individual view, as none of the 12 individuals joined all 10 trials. I.e., The 3rd trial that was conducted within the scope of this study might have been the first trial in which individual "Gluco" partook in. Therefore it would be marked with "Trial=3", but "Individual_Trial=1".
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Year: Reports the year in which the trial was conducted.
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Date: Reports the full date on which a trial was conducted in the format: DD/MM/YY.
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Starting_time: Time of day the experiment started. Note: Starting time for trial 1 was unfortunately not noted down during conduction of the test and is therefore annotated as "n/a".
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Stimulus: Information about the exact stimulus that was used in a trial.
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Stimulus_type: Information on whether the stimulus used was natural (=1) or man-made (=2).
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Speake_position: Reports whether the speaker was attached to a fence pole either ~1.5 m (=1) or ~3 m (=2) away from the camera.
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Stimulus_start: Information about how much time passed between the start of the experiment until the startle noise was played [min, sec].
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Weather: If the weather was 1=sun, 2=cloudy/foggy, 3=rainy, 4=heavily raining, 5=little snowing, 6=heavily snowing.
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Temp: Temperature [°C] on the day a test was conducted.
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Food: Type of food that was provided during the trial.
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Phase: 1=Pre-playback, 2=During Playback (30 sec for raptor playbacks, 20 sec for gunshots), 3=Post-playback
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Birth_year: Year in which the focal bird hatched.
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Age: Age [years] of the focal bird during experiment conduction.
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Age_class: If the focal bird was Juvenile, a Subadult or an Adult during experiment conduction.
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Age_ordered: 1= this year's hatchling, 2= previous year's hatchling, 3= subadult, 4= adult
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Sex: Sex of the focal bird.
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Focal_ID: Name of the focal bird.
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min: Timepoint at which the scored behaviour started in the video.
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D/R: Whether to focal bird was donor or receiver of the current behaviour (not applicable to all scored behaviours). Instances in which the interaction partner was not scored due to invisibility of the outcome or because the specific behaviour does not involve an interaction partner, are annotated as "n/a".
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Behav_Category: Which category the scored behaviour was assigned to; 0=Self-maintenance, 1=Anti-predator, 2=Foraging, 3=Object manipulation, 5=Affiliative, 9=Out of view, 10=Locomotion
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Behav_Type: Which behaviour from a specific behaviour catergory was scored;
Self-maintenance
1=resting
2=auto-preening
3=scratching/stretching/shaking
4=beak wipe
5=panting
10=other
Anti-predator
1=alert (upright and thin)
2=freeze/crowch
3=scold - vocalize
5=jumping jack
6=flee/retreat
10=other
Foraging
1=manipulate/eat food
2=transport/cache/retrieve
3=pick/dig/walk and search
6=steal food: attempt + success
8=wait and watch
10=other
Object manipulation
1=manipulate/hold/carry object
Affiliative
1=cont sit (body length)
2=allo-preen
3=touch/hold
4=approach/follow
5=vocalize - soft call
10=other
Out of view
1=move away
2=re-locate
10=other
Locomotion
1=walk/run/bounce/jump
2=take off
3=landing
4=flying
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Description: Which behaviour was scored.
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Interactor_ ID: Identity of the interaction partner (if visible and if applicable). If the scored behaviour did not involve an interacting partner, cells are annotated as "n/a". "nmr" stands for "non-marked raven"; "mr" stands for "marked raven" (which could not be identified).
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dur: Duration of the scored behaviour [sec]. Cells annotated as "n/a" indicate behaviours which were not scored for their duration, but for frequency only.
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Latency1: Latency until the focal bird resumed feeding on site after the playback [sec], i.e., Feeding latency; only calculated once per individual and per trial.
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Latency2: Latency until the focal bird returned to the feeding site after flying away/ on a tree after hearing the startle playback [sec]., i.e., Return latency; only calculated once per individual and per trial.
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Success: Reports whether the scored behaviour was successful or not; only applicable for "steal food"; 0=no, 1=yes. Cells annotated as "n/a" indicate behaviours which were not scored for success.
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Frequency: How often the scored behaviour was repeated (if applicable, i.e., amount of pecks during "pick/dig/walk and search"). Cells annotated as "n/a" indicate behaviours, which were not scored for frequency.
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position: Location of the focal bird within the test area (only recordedduring location changes; not continuously).
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sum_antipredator_freq: Sum of all scored antipredator behaviours [counts]; calculated once per individual and per individual trial. This data is sorted in the column "Events_anti-predator" in Dataset S1.csv., which was used for the analysis in the article.
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sum_foraging_type1+3_dur: Sum of all scored manipulate/eat food [sec] and pick/dig/walk and search [sec] instances; calculated once per individual and per individual trial. This data is sorted in the column "Duration_feeding" in Dataset S1.csv., which was used for the analysis in the article.
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sum_foraging_type8_dur: Sum of all scored "wait and watch" instances [sec]; calculated once per individual and per individual trial. This data is sorted in the column "Duration_watching" in Dataset S1.csv., which was used for the analysis in the article.
File: Dataset_S1.csv
Description: Curated dataset used for the personality analyses and the LMMs for stimulus type, age and sex effects.
Variables
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Trial: Reports the order in which the trials were conducted; ranges from 1-10.
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Individual_Trial: Reports the order of trials from an individual view, as none of the 12 individuals joined all 10 trials. I.e., The 3rd trial that was conducted within the scope of this study might have been the first trial in which individual "Gluco" partook in. Therefore it would be marked with "Trial=3", but "Individual_Trial=1".
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Year: Reports the year in which the trial was conducted.
-
Date: Reports the full date on which a trial was conducted in the format: DD/MM/YY.
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Starting_time: Time of day the experiment started. Note: Starting time for trial 1 was unfortunately not noted down during conduction of the test and is therefore annotated as "n/a".
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Stimulus: Information about the exact stimulus that was used in a trial.
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Stimulus_type: Information on whether the stimulus used was natural (=1) or man-made (=2).
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Speaker_position: Reports whether the speaker was attached to a fence pole either ~1.5 m (=1) or ~3 m (=2) away from the camera.
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Stimulus_start: Information about how much time passed between the start of the experiment until the startle noise was played [min, sec].
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Video_length [sec]: Total duration of the trial.
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Weather: If the weather during testing was 1=sun, 2=cloudy/foggy, 3=rainy, 4=heavily raining, 5=little snowing, 6=heavily snowing.
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Temp: Temperature [°C] on the day the test was conducted.
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Food: Type of food that was provided during the trial.
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Phase: 1=Pre-playback, 2=During Playback (30 sec for raptor playbacks, 20 sec for gunshots), 3=Post-playback
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Birth_year: Year in which the focal bird hatched.
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Age: Age [years] of the focal bird during experiment conduction.
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Age_class: If the focal bird was Juvenile, a Subadult or an Adult during experiment conduction.
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Age_ordered: 1= this year's hatchling, 2= previous year's hatchling, 3= subadult, 4= adult
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Sex: Sex of the focal bird.
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Focal_ID: Name of the focal bird.
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min: Timepoint at which the scored behaviour started in the video.
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Behav_Category: Which category the scored behaviour was assigned to; 0=Self-maintenance, 1=Anti-predator, 2=Foraging, 3=Object manipulation, 5=Affiliative, 9=Out of view, 10=Locomotion.
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Behav_Type: Which behaviour from a specific behaviour catergory was scored;
Self-maintenance
1=resting
2=auto-preening
3=scratching/stretching/shaking
4=beak wipe
5=panting
10=other
Anti-predator
1=alert (upright and thin)
2=freeze/crowch
3=scold - vocalize
5=jumping jack
6=flee/retreat
10=other
Foraging
1=manipulate/eat food
2=transport/cache/retrieve
3=pick/dig/walk and search
6=steal food: attempt + success
8=wait and watch
10=other
Object manipulation
1=manipulate/hold/carry object
Affiliative
1=cont sit (body length)
2=allo-preen
3=touch/hold
4=approach/follow
5=vocalize - soft call
10=other
Out of view
1=move away
2=re-locate
10=other
Locomotion
1=walk/run/bounce/jump
2=take off
3=landing
4=flying
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Description: Which behaviour was scored.
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dur: Duration of the scored behaviour [sec]. Cells annotated as "n/a" indicate behaviours which were not scored for their duration, but for frequency only.
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Feeding_Latency[sec]: Latency until the focal bird resumed feeding on site after the playback.
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Return_Latency[sec]: Latency until the focal bird returned to the feeding site after flying away/ on a tree after hearing the startle playback [sec].
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Arrival_Latency[sec]: Latency from the start of the trial until the focal bird landed in the experimental area for the first time.
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Frequency: How often the focal bird performed "pecks" during the scored behaviour. "n/a" indicates instances of missing data.
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Events_anti-predator: Sum of all scored antipredator behaviours [counts].
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Events_anti-predator_corrected: Sum of all scored antipredator behaviours [counts], divided by the total video length.
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Duration_feeding: Sum of all scored manipulate/eat food [sec] and pick/dig/walk and search [sec] instances.
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Duration_Feeding[sec]_corrected: Sum of all scored manipulate/eat food [sec] and pick/dig/walk and search [sec] instances, divided by the total video length.
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Duration_watching: Sum of all scored "wait and watch" instances [sec].
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Duration_watching[per_trail_sec]_corrected: Sum of all scored "wait and watch" instances [sec], divided by the total video length.
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Duration_present_total: Trial duration [sec] minus "out of view" events and "Arrival_Latency" for the focal bird until the end of the trial or until "take off" and "move away" without returning occurred.
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Duration_present_total_corrected: Trial duration [sec] minus "out of view" events and "Arrival_Latency" for the focal bird until the end of the trial or until "take off" and "move away" without returning occurred, divided by the total video length.
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Duration_locomotion: Sum of the durations of all instances of Locomotion behaviour for the focal bird during this trial [sec].
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Duration_locomotion[per_trail_sec]_corrected: Sum of the durations of all instances of Locomotion behaviour for the focal bird during this trial [sec], divided by the total video length.
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Duration_present_afterStimulus: Sum of the durations of all scored behaviours [sec] - excluding "out of view" events - after "Stimulus_start" and until the end of the trial or until "take off" and "move away" without returning occurred.
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Duration_present_afterStimulus_corrected: Sum of the durations of all scored behaviours [sec] - excluding "out of view" events - after "Stimulus_start" and until the end of the trial or until "take off" and "move away" without returning occurred, divided by the total video length.
File: ICC_arrival.csv
Description: Data used for ICC calculations. It was extracted from the dataset S1 and only contains two columns with 12 rows. The first column is the measured value of the first trial an individual participated in; Second column contains the value (e.g., Feeding latency) of their second trial. Values are ordered after bird ID (i.e. Bird 1' latency is always in row 1; Bird 2 in row 2 etc.).
Variables
- Trial1: Latency from the start of the trial until the focal bird landed in the experimental area for the first time [sec]; scored in the first individual trial.
- Trial2: Latency from the start of the trial until the focal bird landed in the experimental area for the first time [sec]; scored in the second individual trial.
File: ICC_counts_antipred_corrected.csv
Description: Data used for ICC calculations. It was extracted from the dataset S1 and only contains two columns with 12 rows. The first column is the measured value of the first trial an individual participated in; Second column contains the value (e.g., Feeding latency) of their second trial. Values are ordered after bird ID (i.e. Bird 1' latency is always in row 1; Bird 2 in row 2 etc.).
Variables
- Trial1: Sum of all scored antipredator behaviours [counts], divided by the total video length; scored in the first individual trial.
- Trial2: Sum of all scored antipredator behaviours [counts], divided by the total video length; scored in the second individual trial.
File: ICC_dur_watching_corrected.csv
Description: Data used for ICC calculations. It was extracted from the dataset S1 and only contains two columns with 12 rows. The first column is the measured value of the first trial an individual participated in; Second column contains the value (e.g., Feeding latency) of their second trial. Values are ordered after bird ID (i.e. Bird 1' latency is always in row 1; Bird 2 in row 2 etc.).
Variables
- Trial1: Sum of all scored "wait and watch" instances [sec], divided by the total video length; scored in the first individual trial.
- Trial2: Sum of all scored "wait and watch" instances [sec], divided by the total video length; scored in the second individual trial.
File: ICC_feeding_corrected.csv
Description: Data used for ICC calculations. It was extracted from the dataset S1 and only contains two columns with 12 rows. The first column is the measured value of the first trial an individual participated in; Second column contains the value (e.g., Feeding latency) of their second trial. Values are ordered after bird ID (i.e. Bird 1' latency is always in row 1; Bird 2 in row 2 etc.).
Variables
- Trial1: Sum of all scored manipulate/eat food [sec] and pick/dig/walk and search [sec] instances, divided by the total video length; scored in the first individual trial.
- Trial2: Sum of all scored manipulate/eat food [sec] and pick/dig/walk and search [sec] instances, divided by the total video length; scored in the second individual trial.
File: ICC_feeding_latency.csv
Description: Data used for ICC calculations. It was extracted from the dataset S1 and only contains two columns with 12 rows. The first column is the measured value of the first trial an individual participated in; Second column contains the value (e.g., Feeding latency) of their second trial. Values are ordered after bird ID (i.e. Bird 1' latency is always in row 1; Bird 2 in row 2 etc.).
Variables
- Trial1: Latency until the focal bird resumed feeding on site after the playback [sec]; scored in the first individual trial.
- Trial2: Latency until the focal bird resumed feeding on site after the playback [sec]; scored in the second individual trial.
File: ICC_presence_after_stimulus_corrected.csv
Description: Data used for ICC calculations. It was extracted from the dataset S1 and only contains two columns with 12 rows. The first column is the measured value of the first trial an individual participated in; Second column contains the value (e.g., Feeding latency) of their second trial. Values are ordered after bird ID (i.e. Bird 1' latency is always in row 1; Bird 2 in row 2 etc.).
Variables
- Trial1: Sum of the durations of all scored behaviours [sec] - excluding "out of view" events - after "Stimulus_start" and until the end of the trial or until "take off" and "move away" without returning occurred, divided by the total video length; scored in the the first individual trial.
- Trial2: Sum of the durations of all scored behaviours [sec] - excluding "out of view" events - after "Stimulus_start" and until the end of the trial or until "take off" and "move away" without returning occurred, divided by the total video length; scored in the the second individual trial.
File: ICC_locomotion_corrected.csv
Description: Data used to calculate ICC (extracted from Dataset S2)
Variables
- Trial1: Sum of the durations of all instances of Locomotion behaviour [sec], divided by the total video length; scored in the first individual trial.
- Trial2: Sum of the durations of all instances of Locomotion behaviour [sec], divided by the total video length; scored in the second individual trial.
File: ICC_presence_corrected.csv
Description: Data used for ICC calculations. It was extracted from the dataset S1 and only contains two columns with 12 rows. The first column is the measured value of the first trial an individual participated in; Second column contains the value (e.g., Feeding latency) of their second trial. Values are ordered after bird ID (i.e. Bird 1' latency is always in row 1; Bird 2 in row 2 etc.).
Variables
- Trial1: Trial duration [sec] minus "out of view" events and "Arrival_Latency" for the focal bird until the end of the trial or until "take off" and "move away" without returning occurred, divided by the total video length; scored in the the first individual trial.
- Trial2: rial duration [sec] minus "out of view" events and "Arrival_Latency" for the focal bird until the end of the trial or until "take off" and "move away" without returning occurred, divided by the total video length; scored in the second individual trial.
File: ICC_return_latency.csv
Description: Data used for ICC calculations. It was extracted from the dataset S1 and only contains two columns with 12 rows. The first column is the measured value of the first trial an individual participated in; Second column contains the value (e.g., Feeding latency) of their second trial. Values are ordered after bird ID (i.e. Bird 1' latency is always in row 1; Bird 2 in row 2 etc.).
Variables
- Trial1: Latency until the focal bird returned to the feeding site after flying away/ on a tree after hearing the startle playback [sec]; scored in the first individual trial.
- Trial2: Latency until the focal bird returned to the feeding site after flying away/ on a tree after hearing the startle playback [sec]; scored in the the second individual trial.
File: Bootstrap_antipredator.csv
Description: Data used to calculate bootstrap-coupled estimation plots (extracted from dataset S1).
Variables
- Stimulus type: Reports if the stimulus was natural (=Bird of prey calls) or man-made (Gunshots).
- Frequency [counts/sec]: Sum of all scored antipredator behaviours [counts], divided by the total video length.
File: Bootstrap_feeding_latency.csv
Description: Data used to calculate bootstrap-coupled estimation plots (extracted from dataset S1).
Variables
- Age: Reports if the focal bird belongs to the "Juveniles" or "Subdadults and adults" age group.
- Latency: Latency until the focal bird resumed feeding on site after the playback [sec].
File: Text_S1.txt
Description: Full R script used for the analysis of all results within the paper.
Code/software
The full code can be found in the file "Text S1". During the analyses for this paper, it was run in the statistical software R version 4.2.2 (R Core Team, 2019) within RStudio environment (version R-3.6.1).