With reference to India's biodiversity, Ceylon frogmouth, Coppersmith barbet, Gray-chinned minivet and White-throated redstart are
Answer & explanation
Answer: (a) Birds
All four are birds: a nocturnal frogmouth, a barbet (a small fruit-eating bird), a minivet (a small insect-eating songbird) and a redstart (a chat-like songbird).
- ✓ (a) The Ceylon frogmouth (Batrachostomus moniliger) is a Western Ghats bird, the coppersmith barbet is listed among the birds of Keoladeo, the White-throated redstart (Phoenicurus schisticeps) is a Himalayan bird, and the Gray-chinned minivet (Pericrocotus solaris) is a forest bird of the eastern Himalaya.
- ✗ (d) The word 'frogmouth' misleads: it names the wide, frog-like beak of this night bird, not a frog. None of the four is an amphibian, reptile or primate.
Remember · Frogmouths, barbets, minivets and redstarts are all birds; a bird's common name can mislead, so check the scientific name (Batrachostomus is a bird genus).
Sources
- Report on the Western Ghats bird fauna, hosted by the Parivesh (MoEFCC) forest clearance portal ↗ “namely Mountain Hawk Eagle (Legge’s ) (Nisaetus niphalensis) , Sri Lanka Bay Owl (Phodilus [badius]assimilis) , Ceylon Frogmouth (Batrachostomus moniliger), Indian Swiflet (Aerodramus unicolor)”
- Keoladeo National Park Eco-Sensitive Zone Zonal Master Plan (Government of Rajasthan) ↗ “mottled wood owl, coppersmith barbet, brown headed barbet, lesser flame back, yellow fronted pied wood pecker, brown crowned pigmy woodpecker, white cheeked bulbul, red vented bulbul”
- Important Bird Areas in India: Sikkim (Government of Sikkim, Forest Department) ↗ “Rufous-breasted Bush-Robin Tarsiger hyperythrus White-throated Redstart Phoenicurus schisticeps White-throated Laughingthrush Garrulax albogularis Striated Laughingthrush”
- Namdapha bird checklist, ENVIS Centre (MoEFCC environmental information system) ↗ · reference work “{SHORTBILLED MINIVET} {Pericrocotus brevirostris} {1082.} {SCARLET MINIVET} {Pericrocotus flammeus} {1088.} {YELLOWTHROATED MINIVET} {Pericrocotus solaris} Family {Irenidae}”
Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2020, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). ·