Data from: the flashy escape: support for dynamic flash colouration as anti-predator defence

Dynamic flash colouration is type of antipredator colouration where
intermittently appearing colour patterns in moving animals misdirect
predator attacks by obscuring the precise location and trajectory of the
moving prey. Birds and butterflies with differing dorsoventral wing
colouration or iridescent surface structures may potentially benefit from
such effects. However, we lack an understanding of what makes for an
effective dynamic flash colour design, and how much it benefits the
carrier. Here, we test the effect of colour flashing using small passerine
birds preying upon colourful, moving, virtual ‘prey’ stimuli on a
touchscreen. We show that at fast speeds, green-to-blue flashing colour
patterns can reduce the likelihood of pecks hitting the target, induce
greater error in targeting accuracy and increase the number of pecks at a
stimulus relative to similarly coloured non-flashing targets. Our results
support the idea that dynamic flash colouration can deflect predatory
attacks at fast speeds, but the effect may be the opposite when moving
slowly.