"Begging costs rather than food received cause brood size effect on growth in zebra finches"
Author: Marianthi Tangili
Last updated: 12/01/2025

Scripts, Datasets and Variables for the analysis of parent and offspring zebra finch behavior,
focused on the begging behavior of chicks raised in either small or large broods

ZF_Begging_Final.R : includes R script for plots and statistical analyses
ZF_Begging_Final_R1.R : includes R script for plots and statistical analyses after first round of reviewer comments
ZF_Begging_Database_Final.xlsx: includes all data necessary for running the R script (behavior, mass, survival, age at cross-fostering)

In file "ZF_Begging_Database_Final.xlsx"

Sheet=Mass Variables related to individual growth and brood information:

broodid_2: Secondary brood identifier

BirdId: Unique identifier for each individual bird

mass5: Bird mass measured at 5 days of age

mass15: Bird mass measured at 15 days of age

broodid: Primary brood identifier associated with each bird

Sheet=Behavior Variables relating to detailed behavioral observations of chicks and parents as well as nest information:

individual: Identifier for individual subject (parent, chick)

subject: Behavioral subject (location of chick within the nest, sex of the parent observed)

behavior: Type of observed behavior (begging, feeding, cleaning, resting, other)

percentage: Percentage of time the recorded behavior was performed out of 1h of observations

broodid: Brood identifier linked to the observation

broodid_2: Secondary brood identifier

nest: Brood size (2 or 6)

age: Age of the chicks at time of observation

observer: Code of the person scoring the videos

proportion: Proportion of time the recorded behavior was performed out of 1h of observations

Sheet=AvgAgeCF Variables summarizing brood survival and chick age at cross-fostering:

broodid_2: Secondary brood identifier

AvgAgeCF: Average age of chicks at croff-fostering per brood

Nest: Brood size (2 or 6)

broodid: Primary brood identifier

alive_day5: Number of chicks alive at day 5

alive_day15: Number of chicks alive at day 15