UPSC Prelims 2016 GS Paper I · Q22 of 100 Environment & Ecology easy

In which of the following regions of India are you most likely to come across the 'Great Indian Hornbill' in its natural habitat?

  1. (a) Sand deserts of northwest India
  2. (b) Higher Himalayas of Jammu and Kashmir
  3. (c) Salt marshes of western Gujarat
  4. (d) Western Ghats ✓ UPSC's answer

Why the answer is (d)

• The Great Indian Hornbill, a large fruit-eating bird with a yellow casque, lives in tall evergreen and moist deciduous forests of the Western Ghats and the north-eastern hills — option (d).

• It is the State bird of Kerala and Arunachal Pradesh and depends on large old trees for nesting.

• Deserts (a), high Himalaya (b) and salt marshes (c) lack the dense forest it needs.

• Hence option (d).

Why the other options are wrong

(a) Sand deserts of northwest India
Deserts have no forest habitat for hornbills.
(b) Higher Himalayas of Jammu and Kashmir
High Himalaya is too cold and treeless.
(c) Salt marshes of western Gujarat
Salt marshes lack forest trees.

Asked in the GS Paper I of the UPSC Civil Services Preliminary Examination 2016, held on 7 August 2016. Question and answer key: Union Public Service Commission. Explanation: UPSC Answer Check.

Reading the answer is not the same as getting it right under a clock. Practise this question with UPSC's negative marking, and anything you miss goes into an error notebook until you get it right twice.

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