UPSC Prelims 2014 · Question 80 of 100

UPSC Prelims 2014 question on Birds Following Grazing Cattle

If you walk through the countryside, you are likely to see some birds stalking alongside the cattle to seize the insects disturbed by their movement through grasses. Which one of the following is/are such bird/birds?

1. Painted Stork
2. Common Myna
3. Black-necked Crane

Select the correct answer using the code given below.

  1. 1 and 2
  2. 2 only
  3. 2 and 3
  4. 3 only
Show answer

Answer: B. 2 only

Verdict

The answer is 2 only. The common myna is the bird that follows grazing cattle to catch disturbed insects.

Analysis

The common myna is a familiar bird of fields and villages and readily forages alongside cattle, seizing insects flushed out of the grass by their movement, an association often cited as commensalism. The painted stork is a large wading bird of wetlands and shallow water, feeding by touch in water rather than following livestock. The black-necked crane winters in high altitude wetlands of Ladakh and Arunachal Pradesh and is a rare bird of open marshes, not a countryside companion of cattle.

Source

Fact sheet material on the myna.

How to crack it

The stem sets the habitat before it asks the question. Walking through the countryside among cattle and grasses rules out any species whose habitat is water or high altitude marsh, so the storks and cranes go out on habitat alone. Matching the bird to the described habitat is faster and more reliable than recalling feeding behaviour. This habitat first move handles most of the if you travel or if you walk style questions UPSC uses in ecology.

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