Data from: Structural complexity of hunting habitat and territoriality increase the reversed sexual size dimorphism in diurnal raptors

Finally, for territorial species RSD increased with increasing size of nesting territory. A model comprising only three predictor variables (prey type, structural complexity of hunting habitat and territoriality) explained up to 50% of the variation in RSD of European and American diurnal raptor species, and up to 40% of the variation in RSD when only territorial species were considered. Our results highlight the relevance of spatial facets of the niche – e.g. hunting habitat, territoriality and territory size ‐ in exerting selective pressures on the body size of diurnal raptors.

These selective pressures, joint with already known trophic factors – e.g. diet ‐ are decisive for the evolution of the RSD, a key trait in the functional ecology of raptors. Our findings open up new perspectives in the study of sexual size divergence in birds. | Data and scripts to analyze sexual size dimorphism in diurnal raptors RaptorRSD.rar