“We were watching some Chinese Pond Herons (Ardeola bacchus) in an open field when one darted forward to catch this skink in the grass (above). It then proceeded to move away from us (in case we tried to steal it’s prey!) and devoured the creature. It happened too fast to put on video mode, so shot a series of images and merged 20 together for video effect.
“The diet of the Chinese Pond Heron locally is not well known. In my experience they will forage in a variety of habitats included ponds (for fish), shallow streams, drains and open grass lands (larger insects and animal prey).”
Dato’ Dr Amar-Singh HSS
Tanjung Rambutan, Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia
(Open well cut grass with secondary growth at edge)
28th November 2011
*NOTE: According to R Subaraj, “The skink appears to be a Garden or Bowring’s Supple Skink (Lygosoma bowringii), based on the structure including the very short legs. This is a common skink of the plains, including cities and gardens.”