142 TROPICAL SAVANAS 



external resemblance to the secretary birds. The 

 Brazihan seriema {Gariama cristata) haunts open dis- 

 tricts with scattered bushes, and is a cursorial bird, 

 though it roosts in trees. 



There is nothing very characteristic about the 

 reptiles of the savanas and hot deserts, but of the 

 numerous hzards which occur there one or two may be 

 named as showing interesting pecuKarities. In the 

 sandy districts of Western and Southern Australia occurs 

 Moloch horridus, a Uzard covered with spines and 

 tubercles. It hves upon ants, and has the curious 

 power of being able to absorb water through its rough 

 skin. This is presumably an adaptation to permit the 

 animal to avail itself of the rare showers which fall in 

 the desert regions where it lives. 



Somewhat similar in appearance are the ' homed 

 toads ' (Phrynosoma) of the desert regions in the 

 warmer parts of the United States and in Central 

 America. They also have a rough and prickly skin, 

 and possess remarkable powers of burrowing. The 

 animals are assisted in the process by a curious fringe 

 at the sides of the body, and are said to appear actually 

 to sink into the sand. They feed upon a variety of 

 insects, and in colouring resemble the sandy soU in 

 which they live. In the hot deserts of Northern Africa 

 and the adjacent regions occur the skjnks (Scincus), 

 which are admirably adapted for desert life, their 

 bodies enabhng them to move through the soft sand 

 as fish swim through water. 



. The presence of the Mzards named, together with 

 many others, speaks to the abimdance of insects in 

 desert and savana regions. These insects do not, as 

 a rule, show any very marked adaptations, but we may 

 mention the termites, or so-called white ants, as being 



