The everyday lizard of the South Island high country. A skink that is common but not ordinary. Eyres Skink is defined by a quiet abundance that makes it one of the most familiar reptiles in the region. At twelve to sixteen centimetres in length, it is a medium-sized skink, with brown to greyish-brown colouration and darker stripes along the back and sides. The belly is pale cream, and the eyes are dark and watchful. A lizard that wears stripes. This is a skink of the tussock and the rock. Eyres Skink is found throughout the South Island, in tussock grasslands, scrublands, rocky outcrops, coastal dunes, and riverbeds. It is a diurnal species, active during the day, and it basks on schist rocks and sun-warmed stones, soaking up the heat that will fuel its hunting. A lizard that goes where the sun is. Biologically, Eyres Skink is a viviparous species, giving birth to live young. Females produce three to five offspring each year, a relatively high reproductive rate that allows the species to recover quickly from disturbance. The young are born in late summer and are miniature versions of the adults, independent from birth. A quick return. A short wait. Eyres Skink is not threatened. It is widespread and common in the South Island, with healthy populations throughout its range. But it is still vulnerable to predation by introduced rats, cats, and hedgehogs, and to habitat loss from land development and farming. To see an Eyres Skink is to see a lizard that has adapted to the changes that humans have brought. The schist rock is warm. The skink basks, stripes dark against grey stone. The cat prowls. The skink does not see it. It just basks. That is all it can do.