The common lizard of the North Island. A skink with spots. Spotted Skink has a pattern of spots that makes it one of the most distinctive skinks. At fifteen to twenty centimetres in length, it is a medium-sized skink, slender and agile, with dark brown to greyish-brown colouration and pale spots often outlined in black – giving it a spotted or ocellated appearance. Belly is pale cream, eyes dark and watchful. A skink that wears its spots like armour. A skink of the sun. The Spotted Skink is diurnal, active during the day, and it basks on rocks and logs, soaking up the heat that will fuel its hunting. An agile forager, moving quickly across the ground and through the vegetation, searching for insects and spiders. When threatened, it drops its tail – which continues to writhe, distracting the predator – and disappears into the nearest crevice. Viviparous, giving birth to live young. Females produce three to six 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 generalist, able to live in a wide range of habitats – native forests, scrublands, grasslands, coastal dunes, and even gardens. Found under rocks, in log piles, in stone walls, and in the crevices of buildings. Not threatened. Widespread and common, with healthy populations throughout its range. Still vulnerable to predation by introduced rats, cats, and hedgehogs, and to habitat loss from land development. The garden rock is warm. The spotted skink basks, dark brown with pale spots, watchful eyes. A cat approaches. The skink drops its tail, which writhes, and disappears into a crevice. It does not know it is common. It does not know it is a generalist. It just wants to get warm. A survivor, a creature of the sun and the rocks. Its spotted pattern is a reminder of the beauty of the everyday. The spotted skink is proof.