The Way This Lizard Looks After Her Eggs May Surprise You BBC Earth Science

Lizards, for the most part, are not known for being caring parents, but there are exceptions. It's spring in the woodlands of North America. An American robin is nesting, warming her eggs with the heat generated by her own body. And below, on the forest floor, a five-lined skink is warming her cold-blooded body by basking in the sunshine, so that she can do the same thing. She has a nest below the log. It can get quite chilly in these woodlands, and she warms her eggs by transferring to them the heat that she's collected from the sun. She takes just as much care of her eggs as the robin does. A month later, and her eggs are hatching. The robin's eggs have too. Her nestlings are helpless and need constant feeding. The young skinks, however, are already capable of finding food for themselves. Within a day or so, they've left their mother and are independently exploring the woodland floor for themselves.