Previous reproductive success informs nest-building decisions

Behavioral outcomes, including foraging efficiency and reproductive success, often improve with age and with repeated breeding attempts. Here we examined the role of previous experience on the nest-building behavior of wild blue tits Cyanistes caeruleus. In particular, we focused on how previous success or failure in rearing nestlings shapes nest-building decisions in subsequent years. We found that previous breeding outcome is important for predicting nest building decisions in blue tits: birds that had previously raised fledglings added insulating material at a similar rate as they had when they built their first nest. Some birds that had been previously unsuccessful changed their rate of adding insulating material and then were more likely to produce fledglings. These responses indicate that at least some of the decisions made by wild nest-building birds are based on their own experience of past breeding seasons., , , # Data from: Previous reproductive success informs nest-building decisions

[https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.dz08kps7m](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.dz08kps7m)

## Description of the data and file structure

### Files and variables

#### File: RBreedingSuccess.csv

**Description:** contains information on 182 nests. 

##### Variables

* Year: year the nest was monitored.
* NestBox: unique identifiers for the nest boxes.
* ClutchID: unique identifiers for each nest. 
* MotherID: unique identifiers for the nest builders (female birds). 
* Fledglings: number of fledglings produced from the current nest.
* Experienced: whether the bird had built a nest in the past.
* newExpLevel: categorical reproductive outcome from the bird's previous nest.
* prevFledglings: number of fledglings produced from the bird's previous nest.

#### File: RMaterialsTS.csv

**Description:** contains details of 767 photographs taken of 62 nests (2 nests per female bird in 2 consecutive years).

##### Variables

* Clu...