Good habitat and group living mitigate nest failure from predation and flooding in a riparian bird

Reduced nest survival due to anthropogenic changes contributes to bird population declines. Understanding the drivers of nest failure can thus identify targets for conservation. Nest failure is shaped not only by ecology, but also by behaviour, especially in species with complex social systems. However, the relative importance of behavioural and ecological processes, alone or in interaction, can be hard to quantify, particularly when multiple threats to nest survival co-exist. We examined the fates of 859 nests (31% survived) of Endangered purple-crowned fairy-wrens (Malurus coronatus coronatus). This cooperatively breeding species inhabits waterways in the monsoonal savanna of northwest Australia and is an indicator of the health of threatened but biodiverse riparian ecosystems. We determined the effects of habitat quality (density of Pandanus aquaticus, the dominant midstorey vegetation in this system), weather, and social group size on competing risks to nest survival using a multino..., , , # Good habitat and group living mitigate nest failure from predation and flooding in a riparian bird

[https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.w9ghx3g0f](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.w9ghx3g0f)

## Description of the data and file structure

Data on nest placement, social group composition, nest fate, and active periods for 859 nests of the purple-crowned fairy-wren *Malurus coronatus coronatus* as part of a long-term study on the species' biology and conservation. Data from 2005–2022; compiled for an analysis of the impacts of ecological and social factors on nest survival.

### Files and variables

#### File: nest-data-dryad.xlsx

##### Nests

* nID: unique nest identifier
* fID: unique identifier of the breeding female
* tID: unique identifier of the breeding territory
* year: [Austral] year of nest initiation (beginning from 1-July)
* l: ordinal day of first egg-laying (1=1-July)
* h: ordinal day of hatching (1=1-July)
* i: ordinal day of first confirmed observation/activity (first egg-layin...,