There are three species in this family of birds. They are found in Australia, Papua New Guinea, and Indonesia.

They are ground dwellers and forage in the leaf litter for insects, berries, and worms. They have small bills, plump bodies, rounded heads, pointed wings, long, stiff tails, and medium-sized legs. They use their stiff tails to prop themselves up while digging through the leaf litter and searching for food.

The chowchilla is brown on its uppersides. Males are white on their undersides, and females have a rusty colored throat and a white belly.

The logrunner is gray and brown. Males have a white throat, and females have a rusty-colored throat. Both the logrunner and the chowchilla are found in forests and usually live in male/female pairs.