Fattail Pipent

The fattail pipent replaced its ancestor the whitebacked pipent. It has doubled in size due to the success of its fatty tail. It will store up fat during the rainy season when water and food are plentiful. Then when the river drys up it can live off its fat reserves. They can go for weeks without water and even longer without food.

Like its ancestor it has a white back in order to reflect heat to keep it cool. They no longer need to hibernate like their ancestors once did and can mate during this time so their offspring can have have an abundance of food when they are born in the wet season. During the wet season they swim in the river and graze on the local flora. The river has very salty water even during the wet season and they have evolved ways to excrete the salt out of their skin when they have too much.