The Well Adapted Logrunner
December 2006
Wandering the Booyong Boardwalk in Lamington National Park one afternoon, we come across a family of Logrunners—mum and dad each with a large fledgling—foraging next to the trail and oblivious to our presence. These sparrow-sized birds are specialized leaf litter foragers, feeding on the many small creatures that live hidden among the leaves on the forest floor. They’re well adapted to this terrestrial lifestyle.
The foraging Logrunner squats low to the ground, scuffing away the litter by pushing it to the side with a sideways movement of its legs and feet, first to one side then to the other. This sideways leg stroke is unusual in birds; ground feeders such as North American sparrows and towhees scratch by moving their legs from back to front. A specialized skeletal modification permits the Logrunner’s unusual behavior. The Logrunner also has a spine-tipped tail that acts as a prop while it forages. And when it’s found a productive patch, it digs itself right into the litter almost disappearing beneath the leaves, only the sound of its scratching giving its presence away.
The Logrunner fledglings hang around their parents expectantly. One starts scratching for itself, but doesn’t yet have the finesse of the adult. We notice many small bare patches of ground around the area, evidence of the Logrunners’ feeding activity. It’s always a thrill to watch and photograph birds going about their lives.