the maximum entropy model for group dynamics was tested by looking at correlations between pairs of birds and quadruplets of birds and model predictions were still accurate. this means that the size of the flock has no impact on the accuracy of the model because the only interactions are the immediate neighbors of each bird. That being said, you can still predict the direction of the birds in the center of the flock based on the flight of the birds on the borders.
fig3d
overlap is the overlap of predicted vs actual data (~accuracy) for direction of flight of bird in the flock. distance from border is how far that bird is from the birds on the border of the flock.