Lizard or skink?

This little critter is posing on the fingers of a 4-year-old girl. While helping dig sweet potatoes, she noticed it wiggling in the overturned straw and fresh dirt. She recognized that it was a skink (not a snake) and captured it in a small bucket.

This is a tiny skink that grows to only about 5 inches long as an adult. Varying from the five-lined skink which has five lines across its body and a blue tail, this skink has only one black line and no blue tail. Its back is a beautiful shiny copper color. This skink is a ground skink known as the little brown skink.

Ground skinks do not climb trees. They inhabit forests and places with lots of leaf litter. When scared, they will wiggle away for a short distance of maybe 12 to 16 inches and stop. They may crawl into a small hole for safety. The little brown skink will eat small insects and spiders. It hibernates during winter under logs, fallen leaves and in holes in the ground.

Horrell is an artist and outdoorsman. He lives in Chaffee. He owns Painted Wren Art Gallery in Cape Girardeau.