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Data from: Foraging zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata) use public information rather than conforming to majorities

Abstract Social learning enables adaptive information acquisition provided that it is not random but selective. To understand species typical decision-making and to trace the evolutionary origins of social learning, the heuristics social learners use need to be identified. Here, we experimentally tested the nature of majority influence in the zebra finch. Subjects simultaneously observed two demonstrator groups differing in relative and absolute numbers (ratios 1:2 / 2:4 / 3:3 / 1:5) foraging from two novel food sources (black and white feeders). We find that demonstrator groups influenced observers’ feeder choices (social learning), but that zebra finches did not copy the majority of individuals. Instead, observers were influenced by the pecks of their demonstrators, and in an anti-conformist fashion. These results indicate that zebra finches are not conformist, but are public information users. Methods Experimental data. Scored from video.
Publication year:2021
Accessibility:open
Publisher:Dryad
License:CC0-1.0
Format:xlsx
Keywords: Biology, Chemistry, Human medicine