Data from: Daily nest predation rates decrease with body size in passerine birds

Body size evolution is generally framed by the benefits of being large,
while costs are largely overlooked. An important putative cost of being
large is the need to extend development periods, which should increase
exposure to predation and potentially select against larger size. In
birds, this selection pressure can be important because predation is the
main source of offspring mortality and predators should more readily
detect the larger nests associated with larger body sizes. Here, we show
for diverse passerine birds across the world that, counter to
expectations, larger species suffer lower daily nest predation rates than
smaller species. This pattern is consistent despite latitudinal variation
in predation and does not seem to reflect a tendency of larger species to
use more protected nests or less exposed nest locations. Evidence instead
suggests that larger species attack a wider array of predator sizes, which
could reduce predation rates at nests of large-bodied species. Regardless
of the mechanism, the lower daily nest predation rates of larger species
yield slightly lower predation rates over the entire development period
compared to smaller species. These results highlight the importance of
behavior as a mechanism to alter selection pressures, and have
implications for body size evolution.