The Australian logrunner (''Orthonyx temminckii'') is a species of
bird
Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...
that is
endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...
to eastern
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
where it uses unique foraging techniques and adaptations to search for its food on the floors of temperate, subtropical, or tropical moist lowland
forest
A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...
s in south-eastern Australia. Until 2002, it was widely considered to be
conspecific
Biological specificity is the tendency of a characteristic such as a behavior or a biochemical variation to occur in a particular species.
Biochemist Linus Pauling stated that "Biological specificity is the set of characteristics of living organ ...
with the
New Guinea logrunner, but studies showed the two differ significantly, both genetically and vocally.
It is known by a number of common names including spine-tailed logrunner, spine-tail, logrunner, scrub quail and chowcilla.
Systematics
The Australian logrunner is a
Passeriform
A passerine () is any bird of the order Passeriformes (; from Latin 'sparrow' and '-shaped'), which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds, passerines are distinguished from other orders of birds by th ...
in the family
Orthonychidae
The logrunners (''Orthonyx'') are a clade of birds which comprises three species of passerine birds endemic to Australia and New Guinea. Some authorities consider the Australian family Cinclosomatidae to be part of the Orthonychidae. The three ...
. It is one of only three species within the
Orthonyx
The logrunners (''Orthonyx'') are a clade of birds which comprises three species of passerine birds endemic to Australia and New Guinea. Some authorities consider the Australian family Cinclosomatidae to be part of the Orthonychidae. The three sp ...
genus; the other two are the chowcilla (''Orthonyx spaldingii'') from northern Queensland and the New Guinean logrunner (''Orthonyx novaeguineae'') from Papua New Guinea.
Description
Logrunners as a group are characterised by their distinctive tail feathers where the
rachis
In biology, a rachis (from the grc, ῥάχις [], "backbone, spine") is a main axis or "shaft".
In zoology and microbiology
In vertebrates, ''rachis'' can refer to the series of articulated vertebrae, which encase the spinal cord. In this c ...
(or central shafts) of the tail feathers protrude and are stiffened.
[LUCAS, A. H. S. and DUDLEY LE SOUËF, W. H. 1911. The birds of Australia, Melbourne, Melbourne : Whitcombe and Tombs.] The broad tail of the bird is less than four inches (10 cm) in length and the strong protruding rachis at the ends of the tail feathers are almost void of the usual barbs, giving the feather the appearance of spines.
[HINDWOOD, K. A. 1933. The Spine-tailed Log-runner. -Emu, 33: 257–267.] This appearance gives rise to some of the common names for the bird such as spine-tail or spine-tailed logrunner.
There appears to be some debate about the number of tail feathers possessed by the Australian logrunner. For example, some references state that the logrunner only has 10 tail feathers
[READER'S DIGEST, S. 1986. ''Reader's Digest complete book of Australian birds'', Sydney, Reader's Digest.] whilst other references describe the bird as having 12 tail feathers.
[HIGGINS, P. J., AMBROSE, S. J., MARCHANT, S., DAVIES, S. J. J. F., PETER, J. M., STEELE, W. K. and COWLING, S. J. 1990. ''Handbook of Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic Birds'', Melbourne, Oxford University Press.] Most birds are described as having 12 tail feathers but there are notable exceptions to this.
The logrunner is not unique in having atypical tail feather structures. Other birds, such as the
greater melampitta
The greater melampitta (''Megalampitta gigantea'') is a species of bird in the family Melampittidae. It is the only species in the genus ''Megalampitta'', although it was once placed in the genus ''Melampitta'' with the lesser melampitta. Former ...
(''Melampitta gigantea''), also have spiny and stiffened tail feathers, but not to the same extent as the logrunner. Birds such as creepers,
woodpeckers
Woodpeckers are part of the bird family Picidae, which also includes the piculets, wrynecks, and sapsuckers. Members of this family are found worldwide, except for Australia, New Guinea, New Zealand, Madagascar, and the extreme polar regions. M ...
,
swifts and
penguins
Penguins ( order Sphenisciformes , family Spheniscidae ) are a group of aquatic flightless birds. They live almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere: only one species, the Galápagos penguin, is found north of the Equator. Highly adapt ...
are also known to use their modified tail feathers as braces and supports.
The logrunner's head and back are a reddish-brown colour; the wings are mainly black; and the tail is dark brown. The wing-coverts are tipped with grey and the eyebrow and ear-coverts grey. The throat, breast and abdomen feathers are white. In the female, the throat is an orange-rufous colour. The male is also larger than the female.
[NGUYEN, J. M. T., BOLES, W. E., WORTHY, T. H., HAND, S. J. and ARCHER, M. 2014. New specimens of the logrunner Orthonyx kaldowinyeri (Passeriformes: Orthonychidae) from the Oligo-Miocene of Australia. -Alcheringa: An Australasian Journal of Palaeontology, 38: 245–255.]
Distribution and habitat
The Australian logrunner is found in South Eastern Australia from the
Illawarra
The Illawarra is a coastal region in the Australian state of New South Wales, nestled between the mountains and the sea. It is situated immediately south of Sydney and north of the South Coast region. It encompasses the two cities of Wollongo ...
district in NSW to the
Bunya Mountains
The Bunya Mountains are a distinctive set of peaks forming an isolated section of the Great Dividing Range in southern Queensland. The mountain range forms the northern edge of the Darling Downs in the locality also called Bunya Mountains ne ...
in Queensland. Its preferred habitat is characterised by the leafy floor of rainforests, rich with scattered logs, forest debris, ferns, vines and saplings.
[PIZZEY, G. and KNIGHT, F. 2012. ''The field guide to the birds of Australia'', Sydney, N.S.W., Sydney, N.S.W. : HarperCollinsPublishers.]
Behaviour
The most characteristic behaviour of the logrunner is its foraging technique that involves the bird propping against its spiny tail and then scrapping or throwing leaf debris aside with its feet. Once the larger debris is removed, logrunners then use their tail as a brace and scratch the exposed soil looking for food. This scratching leaves 'soup-plate' depressions in the debris
that are about 150 mm in diameter.
The sideways sweeping action of the legs whilst foraging is unique to logrunners and is possible due to the distinctive structure of the logrunner's pelvis and hind legs. The pelvis is short and broad and the femur is stout with strongly developed projections that support the attachment of the strong muscles needed to support its foraging technique.
Logrunners are described as noisy birds with performances of loud songs and calls, especially in the mornings. These songs and calls are believed to have either a territorial or sexual function.
Diet
The logrunner diet consists mainly of insects and other invertebrates uncovered via foraging on the forest floor.
Social organisation and reproduction
Logrunners live in pairs or in small groups and defend their territory aggressively from neighbouring birds. They are believed to form monogamous and permanent bonds.
The female lays two eggs that are approximately in size.
The eggs are white in colour and have an oval shape.
The incubation period for the eggs is between 20 and 25 days.
![Australian Logrunner Eggs](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4f/Australian_Logrunner_Eggs.jpg)
There appears to be some difference across references with respect to when the logrunner breeds. For example, some state that the bird breeds between April and October,
others state that this occurs usually between May and August, whilst others state that breeding can occur at any time but usually between July and December.
The eggs are laid in a large, domed nest with a ramp. It is formed with sticks, ferns, leaves and natural fibres and is generally covered with green moss. The nests are lined with smaller material and leaves. They are generally constructed against a stone or log, or in a in tree buttress,
but nests are also sometimes constructed in dense forest vines or ferns close to the ground.
[BERULDSEN, G. 2003. ''Australian birds their nests and eggs'', Kenmore Hills, Qld., G. Beruldsen.] There appears to be some variety in the construction material and appearance of logrunner nests.
Logrunners conceal their nests by placing leaves and sticks from the surrounding environment on top of the nest, as well as building a hood over the entrance to the nest with mosses also collected from nearby.
The process of building the nest has been observed in some detail and involves:
* Initially laying down a foundation platform of up to 50 mm of short and strong dry sticks
* Then using short strong sticks to build up around the sides and back of the platform and curved in over the top to form a roof
* The roof and walls are then covered with dry leaves and moss to a thickness of around 25 mm
* Concealment is further improved by placing dry leaves and twigs on top of the moss roof
* The moss roof is extended and slopes towards the front of the nest to form a hood or awning over the entrance (almost concealing the entrance)
* Finally, the inside of the nest is lined with dry vegetation such as bark, dry moss and fern fibre.
Nest construction is performed by the female and she is solely responsible for incubating the eggs which takes between 20–25 days.
The female is also responsible for rearing the young until they leave the nest which takes between 16–19 days.
Both male and female appear to share responsibility for feeding the young after they leave the nest.
[MCNAMARA, E. 1934. Observations of the Habits of the Spine-tailed Log-runner. -Emu, 34: 177-180.]
References
Sources
* del Hoyo, J.; Elliot, A. & Christie D. (editors). (2006). Handbook of the Birds of the World. Volume 12: Picathartes to Tits and Chickadees. Lynx Editions.
THE ATLAS OF LIVING AUSTRALIA. (2015). Orthonyx temminckii : Australian Logrunner.*
{{Taxonbar, from=Q901556
Australian logrunner
The Australian logrunner (''Orthonyx temminckii'') is a species of bird that is endemic to eastern Australia where it uses unique foraging techniques and adaptations to search for its food on the floors of temperate, subtropical, or tropical moi ...
Australian logrunner
The Australian logrunner (''Orthonyx temminckii'') is a species of bird that is endemic to eastern Australia where it uses unique foraging techniques and adaptations to search for its food on the floors of temperate, subtropical, or tropical moi ...
Birds of Queensland
Birds of New South Wales
Endemic birds of Australia
Australian logrunner
The Australian logrunner (''Orthonyx temminckii'') is a species of bird that is endemic to eastern Australia where it uses unique foraging techniques and adaptations to search for its food on the floors of temperate, subtropical, or tropical moi ...
Taxonomy articles created by Polbot