Probably everyone has seen the most common one, known as the garden skink.

One of the less common species is the weasel skink, pictured.

Today’s photo was taken at Napoleons.

One of its diagnostic features is a small white spot below and behind the eye.

The long tail is frequently more copper-coloured than the grey-brown body.

Its long tail and short legs result in the weasel skink moving more like a snake than a lizard.

Its movement is quite different from that of the garden skink.

The weasel skink is not as much a sun-lover as the garden skink.

It is active mostly at dusk and early mornings, as well as on warm nights.

One at Napoleons was found, well-camouflaged, among pea straw in a vegetable garden.

Normal habitat is bushland with leaf litter or similar ground cover.

But the weasel skink is also found in suitable gardens.

It seems to be uncommon in the Ballarat region.

But perhaps our lack of sightings is simply because of its preference for dawn, dusk and night, rather than the sunny conditions preferred by many other skinks.

Like other similar lizards it drops its tail if threatened.

The tail twitches, distracting a predator and often allowing the tail-less lizard to escape.

A new tail grows eventually.

Local bird news

Reports from this month’s local bird meeting include little corellas with long-billed corellas at Skipton and numerous Horsfield’s bushlarks south of Campbelltown.

There were also reports of four owlet-nightjars at Daisy Hill, white-throated needletails at Mt Buninyong and a satin flycatcher at Burrumbeet.

Little corellas are gradually increasing locally, but Skipton appears to be a new locality for them.

Burrumbeet is a new locality for the satin flycatcher.

Bushlarks probably occur each summer across the northern basalt plains of the Ballarat region, but they are seldom common.

The recent birds were occupying a grassy paddock and adjacent grassy roadsides.

Owlet-nightjars are normally present at the Daisy Hill property, but this summer four hollows have been occupied by at least one bird at the same time, instead of the usual single bird occupying just the one hollow. 

Observers have noticed that Lake Wendouree’s population of whiskered terns has gone.

They were with us from October through until late January, making a visit of four months or more.