Chowchilla
Orthonyx spaldingii
The Chowchilla (Orthonyx spaldingii) is a rare logrunner and chowchilla found only in Australia, weighing about 150 g. The chowchilla is a passerine bird in the family Orthonychidae.










About the Chowchilla
The chowchilla is a passerine bird in the family Orthonychidae. It is endemic to Australia.
Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
How to identify it
Unmistakable thrush-like, ground-dwelling, birds. Males and females largely dark brown with white eye-ring, tail-feather shafts extend as spines beyond feather-vanes; males with white throat, breast and belly; females with bright rufous throat and upper breast, white lower breast and belly. Voice: Continuous chattering, singing and other complex vocalisations.
Where it lives
When to see it
The Chowchilla can be seen all year round, with peak activity in October. It is a resident species across most of its range.
Easily confused with
Quick questions
- How do you identify a Chowchilla?
- Unmistakable thrush-like, ground-dwelling, birds. Full identification notes are on this page.
- How big is a Chowchilla?
- The Chowchilla is a medium sized bird weighing about 150 g.
- Where can you see a Chowchilla?
- The Chowchilla is endemic to Australia, which is the only country where it occurs.
- What birds look similar to a Chowchilla?
- The Chowchilla is most easily confused with the Papuan Logrunner and the Australian Logrunner.
- Is the Chowchilla endangered?
- The Chowchilla is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.
Learn the Chowchilla for real
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