The summer had been long and hot. The dam was low, and the paddocks had turned gold.

"How does anything survive out here?" Little Thunder puffed, flopping into the shade of a gum tree.

"Let's find out," said Suzy. "The bush is full of survivors."

They hadn't gone far when Spike spotted a red kangaroo resting in the shade, licking her forearms. "Why's she doing that?"

"It cools her down," said Suzy. "When the spit dries, it takes heat away. That's a behavioural adaptation, something an animal does."

Next they found a thorny devil on the red sand. Little Thunder bent down carefully. "Those spikes look tough."

"They protect it from predators," said Spike. "And tiny grooves between the scales carry water to its mouth. It can drink dew right off its skin!"

Under the dry creek bed, Suzy dug gently and found a burrowing frog wrapped in a skin cocoon. "It sleeps underground until the rain comes," she whispered, covering it up again.

On the walk home, they passed a blackened patch of bush where a fire had swept through last year. Bright green shoots were sprouting straight out of the burnt trunks of the eucalypts.

"Epicormic buds," said Spike proudly. "They hide under thick bark and grow after fire. And banksia cones need heat to open and drop their seeds."

Little Thunder looked around with new eyes. "So everything here has a trick."

"Body parts, behaviours and the way their insides work," said Suzy. "Structural, behavioural and physiological."

That evening, Little Thunder stood in the shade and lowered his head to rest. "Behavioural adaptation," he grinned. "I'm built for the bush too."