<b>Breeding barn swallows recognize householders from strangers</b>

This study was conducted from May to July 2017 in Caoyang Village, Nanxing Town, Leizhou City, Zhanjiang, Guangdong Province, southern China (20°50′ N, 110°09′ E). Nanxing Town covers a total area of 135 km² and consists of 127 villages with a population of 108,000 as of 2014. The total area planted with crops is 10, 018.2 ha, of which 8, 333.33 ha are dedicated to rice, producing nearly 50,000 tons of grain annually, making it an important grain production base in Leizhou (www.leizhou.gov.cn). The local architectural style mainly consists of single-story brick and wood houses with tiled roofs. barn swallows (<i>Hirundo rustica</i>) usually nest along the cornices of corridors that are open on two sides and connected to the front and back courtyards, making them suitable for experimentation.Before the experiment began, we conducted a survey of barn swallow nests in the breeding phase throughout the village and trained householders on FID measurements to ensure that they approached the experimental subjects at a consistent walking pace. Both householders and experimenters wore neutral clothing. The observer would wait at a fixed point 10 m directly below the nest until the parent birds returned and then immediately begin approaching them. To minimize noise interference, the observer remained silent throughout the process. Measurements were performed using an SNDWAY SW-70G rangefinder (Sndway Technology (Guangdong) Co., Ltd., Dongguan, China) with an accuracy of 0.001 m. This fixed starting distance served to mitigate any correlation between the FID and starting distance (Møller et al. 2019). The FID was recorded as the horizontal distance between the person’s position and the spot directly below the nest when the parent bird flew away, as described by Blumstein (2006).YL, as the sole control experimenter, also recorded the date, number of returning parent birds, and, if possible, noted any behaviors displayed by the householders toward the barn swallow nests, with special emphasis on cases where householders were frequently present. Repeatability analysis indicated consistent FID estimated among observers within the same type of personnel (Guay et al. 2013).Our results demonstrated that barn swallows can identify the householder where their nest is located, displaying lower alertness when the householder approaches, compared to an unfamiliar experimenter. Furthermore, there was no significant difference in FID between swallows reacting to householders who were rarely at home versus those who were frequently present, suggesting that barn swallows may possess the capability to recognize and retain memory of individual humans over time. Our findings provide evidence that barn swallows exhibit remarkable cognitive abilities. The long-standing symbiotic relationship between barn swallows and humans provides a unique model for studying the adaptation of species to environments with close human interactions. Research on their behavior and survival strategies can offer insights into the influence of symbiotic relationships on species adaptability and evolution.

本研究于2017年5月至7月在中国南部广东省湛江市雷州市南兴镇曹洋村开展，地理坐标为北纬20°50′、东经110°09′。南兴镇总面积135平方千米，截至2014年下辖127个行政村，总人口10.8万。全镇农作物种植总面积达10018.2公顷，其中水稻种植面积为8333.33公顷，年粮食总产量近5万吨，系雷州市重要的粮食生产基地（数据来源：www.leizhou.gov.cn）。当地传统建筑以单层砖木结构瓦房为主。家燕（*Hirundo rustica*）多在两侧通透、连通前后庭院的走廊檐下筑巢，该生境非常适合开展本实验。实验启动前，我们对全村范围内繁殖期的家燕巢穴开展了全面调查，并对参与实验的住户进行了逃逸起始距离（Flight Initiation Distance, FID）测量培训，确保其以统一的步行速度接近实验对象。所有住户与实验人员均身着素色服装。观察者需在巢穴正下方10米处的固定点位等候，待亲鸟返回后即刻启动靠近流程。为最大程度降低噪音干扰，实验全程保持静默。本研究采用深达威SW-70G测距仪（广东省东莞市深达威科技有限公司）进行测量，其测量精度可达0.001米。该固定起始距离设置可有效规避起始距离对FID的相关性影响（Møller et al., 2019）。依据Blumstein（2006）的定义，FID为亲鸟飞离瞬间，观察者所处位置与巢穴正下方点位间的水平距离。本研究唯一的对照实验员YL同时记录了实验日期、返回亲鸟的数量，若条件允许还会记录住户对家燕巢穴的相关行为，重点关注长期常住的住户群体。重复性分析结果表明，同一类别的实验人员所测得的FID具有良好的一致性（Guay et al., 2013）。本研究结果显示，家燕能够识别其巢穴所在区域的住户，当住户靠近时其警觉性显著低于面对陌生实验员时的水平。此外，家燕面对偶尔常住住户与长期常住住户时的FID并无显著差异，这提示家燕或许具备识别人类个体并长期留存相关记忆的能力。本研究结果为家燕具备卓越认知能力提供了实证支撑。家燕与人类间长期存在的共生关系，为探究物种适应人类密切互动的环境提供了独特的研究模型。对其行为模式与生存策略的研究，可为揭示共生关系对物种适应性与进化的影响提供新的理论视角。

搜集汇总

背景与挑战

背景概述

该数据集基于2017年在中国广东进行的一项研究，探讨家燕能否识别其巢穴主人与陌生人，通过测量飞行起始距离（FID）来评估家燕的警觉性差异。研究发现家燕对主人的警觉性较低，且能记忆个体人类，这揭示了家燕的认知能力和与人类的长期共生关系。数据集包含原始数据表格和R代码文件，适用于行为生态学和动物认知研究。