The Logrunner: A character of the forest floor
When you spend some time in the rainforests of South East Queensland, especially at dawn or dusk you are likely to hear the calls of one of the endearing characters of the forest floor. In this video you can see a female logrunner (red chest) foraging and feeding on the forest floor. You can also hear her responding to her mate (who has a distinctive white chest) who continually calls in the background - just to let each other know where they are.
Generally quiet for most of the day, they can certainly fire up their vocals when required. They are territorial birds and will defend their territory from other potential interlopers with vigorous calls and displays.
They spend the majority of their life on the forest floor where they feed on invertebrates in the leaf litter. They forage by vigorously scratching from side to side with their relatively large feet, using their stiff tail as a prop and securing the small worms and invertebrates exposed in the scattered leaf litter. They are sometimes referred to as the Spinetailed Logrunner.
They are found in the rainforests and wet sclerophyll forests along the Eastern coast of Australia associated (New South Wales and Southern Queensland). The male is characterised by having a white chest, whilst the female has a russet chest patch.
They generally breed during the dry winter months, which might imply less prey in the moist leaf litter. Researchers have investigated the availability of invertebrate prey and found they were still abundant and of significant quality to allow breeding during the winter months. It is thought that breeding at this time may reduce the impact of predation on the vulnerable fledglings. It is also thought that the fledglings learn to be more efficient foragers during this time.
Further reading:
Goosem, Booth & Walter (2015) Winter breeding of a subtropical rainforest passerine: spatio-temporal distribution of prey and the sex-related foraging behaviour of the Southern Logrunner, Orthonyx temminckii, Emu, 115, 345-355
