India, June 1 -- Only those as mad as a hatter would venture into the noon / afternoon heat of the Thar desert for a foodie binge. But for the Brilliant Ground agama (Trapelius / Agama agilis Olivier), a lesser known lizard and commonly confounded by locals with a girgit/korkirla (Garden lizard), the inferno of the desert is best suited for predation on insects and its own safety.

This is precisely the time, as the wise lizard knows, the avian hunters such as falcons, hawks and eagles will have beaten a retreat to a shady 'thikana'. Insects, too, are active at this infernal time in the native flora of the Thar: Kheep, Ber, Jaal, Kumbat, Aak etc. Insects feed on foliage and lay eggs, and in turn are gobbled by the 'lizards who duel at hig...