Birds, Reptiles, Amphibians, Fish and Invertebrates in the News for UPSC: Great Indian Bustard, Gharial, Olive Ridley, Gooty Tarantula and More
How UPSC Tests Birds, Reptiles, Fish and Invertebrates
🎯 Exam priority: Tier-1. These groups supply a third of the species questions. The last papers asked: which of four is not a bird (golden mahseer is a fish, 2022); which organisms perform the waggle dance (honeybees, 2023); which of butterflies, fish and frogs have poisonous species (all three, 2024); how many of five insect groups contain parasitoids (2024); the Gooty tarantula (2025); and the Amur falcon's arrival at Doyang Lake (2026).
The common theme is that UPSC picks an animal group that sounds exotic and asks one biological fact that a careful reader can reason out. The approach in this article is therefore a reasoning toolkit for each group (what is distinctive about birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish and insects), followed by the species that recur in the news with their IUCN category.
A note on statuses. IUCN categories are as listed in the Red List's 2023-1 update through a secondary compilation; check the latest category for any species in a fresh news story. Programme facts come from the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (Annual Report 2025-26 and the year-end review of 31 December 2025).
Birds: Species, Statuses, Programmes and the Identification Trap
Birds: the species and the programmes
Recent programme news you should know: during Wildlife Week 2025 the Ministry launched five national projects, including Project Dolphin Phase II, Project Sloth Bear and Project Gharial, and four action plans with field guides for population assessment of river dolphins, tigers, snow leopards and bustards. The Annual Report adds that the sloth bear and the gharial now sit under the Species Recovery Programme, a component of the centrally sponsored scheme for the Development of Wildlife Habitats.
Bird | IUCN (2023-1) | Why it appears in the news |
Great Indian bustard | Critically Endangered | Grassland bird of the arid west (Rajasthan and Gujarat); collisions with power lines and habitat loss; a bustard action plan was launched in 2025 |
Bengal florican | Critically Endangered | Grassland bustard of the Terai and the Brahmaputra floodplain |
Siberian crane | Critically Endangered | A migratory crane; NCERT notes that fewer than ten visited the Bharatpur wetlands in some years, a textbook example of a very small population |
White-rumped vulture | Critically Endangered | One of the vultures whose populations collapsed after veterinary diclofenac poisoned carcasses |
Forest owlet | Endangered | A small owl of the dry forests of central India, once feared extinct |
Narcondam hornbill | Critically Endangered | Endemic to a single small island in the Andamans |
Sarus crane | Vulnerable | The tallest flying bird; found in wetlands and farmland of northern India |
Amur falcon | (passage migrant) | Doyang Lake in Nagaland is a stopover on its journey from Mongolia and Siberia to Africa; the Nagaland story is one of community conservation. They do not settle permanently in India (2026 PYQ) |
The bird-identification trap
UPSC likes to slip a non-bird into a list of bird names. The golden mahseer (2022) is a fish among the nightjar, spoonbill and ibis. When a name contains 'mahseer' or 'shark', think fish; 'florican', 'bustard' and 'courser' are birds.
Reptiles and Amphibians
Reptiles and amphibians
Gharial (Critically Endangered): a fish-eating crocodilian of fast, deep rivers; now under the Species Recovery Programme and the subject of Project Gharial (2025).
Olive ridley turtle (Vulnerable): famous for mass nesting ('arribada') on Odisha's coast; green turtle (Endangered) and hawksbill (Critically Endangered) also visit Indian waters. Sea turtles are a staple of questions on the coast, mangrove and marine-park articles.
Freshwater turtles and tortoises: many are Critically Endangered (the northern river terrapin, red-crowned roofed turtle, black softshell turtle), mostly because of trade and river changes.
Amphibians are the most extinction-prone vertebrates: NCERT says 32 per cent of amphibian species are threatened, more than any other group it lists, and the Western Ghats have greater amphibian diversity than the Eastern Ghats. Their permeable skin makes them early-warning indicators of pollution and climate stress.
Reasoning rules the PYQs reward
Some turtle species are herbivores (the green turtle eats seagrass as an adult), some fish are herbivores (parrotfish eating algae), and some marine mammals are herbivores (dugongs and manatees): the 2019 'which are herbivores' question was all four true.
Some snakes are viviparous (give birth to live young), so the broad claim 'all reptiles lay eggs' is false.
Fish, Invertebrates and the Behaviour Facts UPSC Has Used
Fish and invertebrates
Golden mahseer (Endangered) is a cyprinid of fast Himalayan rivers; the mahseer genus is a favourite for 'not a bird' and 'found naturally in which river' pairs. The Ganges shark (Critically Endangered) is one of the few shark species found in rivers.
Peacock (Gooty) tarantula (Critically Endangered): a spider, so it is an arachnid, not a crustacean; arboreal, living in tree hollows; confined to a small patch of Eastern Ghats forest in Andhra Pradesh (2025 PYQ). The Rameshwaram parachute spider is another Critically Endangered tarantula; the related Poecilotheria species are Endangered.
Honeybees communicate by the waggle dance: the angle of the run shows the direction relative to the Sun and its length shows the distance (2023).
Parasitoids lay eggs in or on a host and the larvae eventually kill it; they occur in wasps, flies and some beetles (2024) but not in termites or centipedes.
Poison across groups: some butterflies, some fish (pufferfish) and some frogs (poison dart frogs) are poisonous (2024). A statement saying 'only reptiles can be venomous or poisonous' would be false.
Fig and fig wasp: the textbook one-to-one pollination partnership (2024); leaf-cutter ants farm fungus (2022).
How UPSC Could Ask This Next
'Which is not a bird / mammal / reptile' with a name drawn from the species in the news.
Migration questions: Amur falcon, Siberian crane, bar-headed goose, and the Central Asian Flyway; know a stopover site and whether the species is a resident or a passage migrant.
Statement questions on biology: viviparous snakes, herbivorous fish or turtles, poisonous groups, nitrogen-fixing or parasitic habits.
Programme-and-species matching: Project Gharial, Project Sloth Bear and the Species Recovery Programme; the bustard action plan.
Further Reading
NCERT Biology (Class 12) and Geography textbooks, the India State of Forest Report, the MoEFCC Annual Report, the Economic Survey and the official lists cited in this note — the primary sources behind every figure above.
Test Yourself: Practice Questions and PYQs
Twelve practice questions on birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish and invertebrates in the news, followed by the real UPSC Prelims questions.
Practice Questions
Q1. Which of the following is NOT a bird?
(a) White ibis
(b) Spoonbill
(c) Indian nightjar
(d) Golden mahseer
Show answer
Answer: (d) — The golden mahseer (Tor putitora) is a fish of Himalayan rivers; the other three are birds.
Q2. Which one of the following is a Critically Endangered bird of the arid grasslands of western India that was the subject of an action plan launched in 2025?
(a) Sarus crane
(b) Amur falcon
(c) Great Indian bustard
(d) Forest owlet
Show answer
Answer: (c) — Bustards were one of four species groups for which the Ministry launched action plans in Wildlife Week 2025; the Great Indian bustard is Critically Endangered.
Q3. Which of the following statements about the Amur falcon at Doyang Lake is correct?
(a) It is a passage migrant on its way from Mongolia to Africa, and the local community's conservation effort protects it
(b) It breeds in Nagaland and stays throughout the year
(c) It has adapted to permanent residence in India
(d) It is protected there because of satellite tracking alone
Show answer
Answer: (a) — Amur falcons stop at Doyang Lake in large numbers each year; the story is of community conservation, not permanent residence or technology.
Q4. Consider the following statements about the gharial:
1. It is a fish-eating crocodilian.
2. It is listed as Critically Endangered by the IUCN.
3. It is covered by Project Gharial and the Species Recovery Programme launched/included in 2025.
Which of the statements given above are correct?
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 1, 2 and 3
(d) 1 and 3 only
Show answer
Answer: (c) — All three hold according to the Red List listing and the Ministry's 2025-26 report.
Q5. Which of the following statements about amphibians is correct according to NCERT?
(a) Amphibians are more vulnerable to extinction than most other groups; 32 per cent of amphibian species face the threat of extinction
(b) Amphibians are the least threatened vertebrate group
(c) Only 12 per cent of amphibians face extinction
(d) Amphibian diversity is greater in the Eastern Ghats than in the Western Ghats
Show answer
Answer: (a) — NCERT says extinctions are not random and that amphibians appear more vulnerable; 32 per cent are threatened, and the Western Ghats have the greater amphibian diversity.
Q6. Consider the following:
1. Some species of turtles are herbivores.
2. Some species of fish are herbivores.
3. Some species of marine mammals are herbivores.
4. Some species of snakes are viviparous.
How many of the above statements are correct?
(a) Only one
(b) All four
(c) Only two
(d) Only three
Show answer
Answer: (b) — The green turtle (adult) is herbivorous, parrotfish graze on algae, dugongs eat seagrass, and some snakes give birth to live young: all four are correct.
Q7. The peacock (Gooty) tarantula is
(a) an arboreal spider (arachnid) restricted to a small area of forest in Andhra Pradesh
(b) a terrestrial spider found throughout the Western Ghats
(c) an insect that lives in the Himalaya
(d) a crustacean found along the west coast
Show answer
Answer: (a) — A tarantula is an arachnid, not a crustacean; the Gooty tarantula lives in tree hollows in a few forests of Andhra Pradesh and is Critically Endangered.
Q8. Which of the following organisms perform a 'waggle dance' to tell others the direction and distance of food?
(a) Wasps
(b) Butterflies
(c) Dragonflies
(d) Honeybees
Show answer
Answer: (d) — The waggle dance is the honeybee's communication behaviour.
Q9. Statement-I: Parasitoids are found among wasps, flies and some beetles.
Statement-II: A parasitoid lays its eggs in or on a host and its larvae eventually kill the host.
Which one of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?
(a) Both statements are correct and Statement-II explains why these insects are called parasitoids
(b) Statement-I is correct but Statement-II is incorrect
(c) Statement-I is incorrect but Statement-II is correct
(d) Both statements are correct but Statement-II does not explain Statement-I
Show answer
Answer: (a) — A parasitoid's life cycle ends with the death of its host, which is what separates it from an ordinary parasite.
Q10. Which of the following is a Critically Endangered turtle species whose population has been reduced mainly by trade and the loss of nesting sand banks in rivers?
(a) Green sea turtle
(b) Indian flapshell turtle
(c) Northern river terrapin (Batagur baska)
(d) Olive ridley sea turtle
Show answer
Answer: (c) — The northern river terrapin is listed as Critically Endangered; the olive ridley is Vulnerable and the green turtle Endangered.
Q11. Which one of the following is the best description of the olive ridley turtle in Indian waters?
(a) A freshwater turtle of the Chambal
(b) A species famous for mass nesting on the Odisha coast and listed as Vulnerable
(c) A land tortoise of the Thar
(d) A herbivorous turtle found only in the Andaman Sea
Show answer
Answer: (b) — Olive ridleys gather in large numbers to nest on Odisha's beaches; the species is Vulnerable on the Red List.
Q12. Which one of the following is true of poisonous animals?
(a) No insect is poisonous
(b) Only snakes are poisonous
(c) Poison is limited to marine animals
(d) Poisonous species are found among butterflies, fish and frogs
Show answer
Answer: (d) — Examples include some butterflies that store toxins from their food plants, pufferfish and poison dart frogs.
UPSC Previous Year Questions (PYQs)
Real UPSC Prelims questions, checked against the official paper and answer key (the 2026 question uses UPSC's provisional key).
Q1. (2022) Which of the following is not a bird?
(a) Indian Nightjar
(b) White Ibis
(c) Golden Mahseer
(d) Spoonbill
Show answer
Answer: (c) — The golden mahseer (Tor putitora) is a fish of Himalayan rivers. The Indian nightjar, spoonbill and white ibis are all birds.
Q2. (2023) Which of the following organisms perform waggle dance for others of their kin to indicate the direction and the distance to a source of their food?
(a) Dragonflies
(b) Honeybees
(c) Butterflies
(d) Wasps
Show answer
Answer: (b) — Honeybees perform the waggle dance: the angle of the waggle run to the vertical shows the direction of a food source relative to the Sun, and its duration shows the distance. Butterflies, dragonflies and wasps do not use this dance.
Q3. (2024) Consider the following :
1. Butterflies
2. Fish
3. Frogs
How many of the above have poisonous species among them ?
(a) None
(b) Only two
(c) All three
(d) Only one
Show answer
Answer: (c) — Poisonous species occur in all three groups: some butterflies (such as the African giant swallowtail) store toxins from their food plants, some fish (pufferfish) are poisonous, and poison dart frogs carry skin toxins.
Q4. (2025) Regarding Peacock tarantula (Gooty tarantula), consider the following statements:
I. It is an omnivorous crustacean.
II. Its natural habitat in India is only limited to some forest areas.
III. In its natural habitat, it is an arboreal species.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a) II and III
(b) I and III
(c) I only
(d) II only
Show answer
Answer: (a) — The Gooty (peacock) tarantula is an arachnid, not a crustacean, so I is wrong. It lives only in a small patch of forest in the Eastern Ghats of Andhra Pradesh, and it is arboreal, so II and III are right.
Q5. (2019) Consider the following statements:
1. Some species of turtles are herbivores.
2. Some species of fish are herbivores.
3. Some species of marine mammals are herbivores.
4. Some species of snakes are viviparous.
Which of the statements given above are correct?
(a) 1 and 3 only
(b) 2, 3 and 4 only
(c) 1, 2, 3 and 4
(d) 2 and 4 only
Show answer
Answer: (c) — All four hold: the green turtle is herbivorous as an adult, parrotfish and many other fish graze on algae, manatees and dugongs are herbivorous marine mammals, and some snakes (boas, many vipers) give birth to live young.
Q6. (2026, provisional key) Which of the following statements with regard to the arrival of Amur Falcons at Doyang Lake in Nagaland each year from Mongolia is/are correct ?
1. It showcases how sustained local conservation efforts can contribute to the arrival and protection of international migratory birds.
2. It reflects the global success of advanced tracking technologies that guide migratory birds back to their stopover sites.
3. It confirms that Amur Falcons have adapted to permanent residency in India due to favourable habitat changes.
(a) 3 only
(b) 1 and 2
(c) 2 and 3
(d) 1 only
Show answer
Answer: (d) — The Amur falcons that stop at Doyang Lake are passage migrants heading on to Africa, so they have not become permanent residents (3 is wrong), and the Nagaland story is one of community conservation, not tracking technology (2 is wrong). Only 1 is right.
Mains Practice Questions
Use these to frame full-length answers. You don't have to answer one exactly — they show the angles UPSC tests, so let them guide which points you cover.
Why are amphibians considered indicators of environmental health, and what threatens them in the Western Ghats?
Discuss the conservation status of vultures in India and the measures that have been taken to arrest the decline. Why is the issue ecologically important?
Explain the role of local communities in the conservation of migratory birds such as the Amur falcon at Doyang Lake.
What is Project Gharial and why is the gharial a critical indicator species for river ecosystems?
Discuss the threats to the Great Indian bustard and the steps needed to save it.
UPSC Mains — Previous Years’ Questions on this topic (last 10 years)
No direct GS Mains question has been asked specifically on this topic in the last decade — it is primarily a Prelims area. Use the practice prompts above to stay exam-ready.