hmmmm.
lost a tree right where I was working last night. at least it fell away from the new chicken fence. Ida bean mad...
finished watering, and got distracted. I found skinks up in the front garden...
Family Scincidae
RANGE: U.S.: The Five-lined Skink is found in eastern U.S.A. from Great Lakes region eastward; southward through south-eastern Nebraska to eastern Kansas and eastern Texas. The Broad-headed Skink has a similar distribution, except does not occur north of a line from central Missouri to Maryland.
Kansas: The Five-lined Skink is found in the eastern one-third of the state; the Broad-headed Skink only along the Missouri line.
DESCRIPTION: Size: Five-lined Skink's size is medium, snoul-vent length up to 3 inches; tail is not quite twice that length. Broad-headed Skink is large, snout-vent length of males up to 5 inches.
Color and pattern: A pattern of five longitudinal light lines is present in all but adult males, consisting of a mid-dorsal line which forks into two on the top of the head; and two lines on each side. Ground color varies from black in the juveniles (which have a blue tail) to light brown in adults. Males may have red jaws during breeding season. Males also tend to lose the light stripes and appear to be brown with a darker broad stripe on the side. Both of these skinks are alike in coloration and pattern.
RECOGNITION: Five well-defined light stripes should distinguish these skinks from other skinks in Kansas, whicb have only four or none. Males may be told from the other skinks because of lack of two white stripes on each side (Coal Skink and Prairie Skink) or size (over 2 inches snout-vent) larger than Ground Skink.
Five-lined Skinks have two large scales, one above the other, in front of the ear opening. These are small, single, or lacking in the Broad-headed Skink. Also, the scale row on underside of tail of the Broad-headed Skink is wide (more narrow in Five-lined Skink).
HABITAT: The Broad-headed Skink is restricted to woodlands, where it lives on the ground and up in the trees.
The Five-lined Skink is usually found in woodlands or shaded areas, usually on the ground. It may be found in grassy fields where rocks or other materials form protective cover.
HABITS: The tree climbing behavior of the Broad-headed Skink is well known. These not only go up trees when disturbed, but also may spend a great deal of their time above the ground. Five-lined Skinks remain close to the ground most of the time, on, or around, logs, wood piles and rocks. They are secretive and are most often seen when some piece of ground cover is overturned. The tail is easily detached in this species.
Food consists of insects for the most part, but any small prey may be taken.
Nests are dug under some object. Numbers of eggs vary from 2 or 3 to over a dozen. The female remains in attendance with the eggs, which hatch in late summer.
(http://www.emporia.edu/ksn/v11n4-april1965/)
