The range of these ground dwelling birds extends along eastern Australia from Cape York Peninsula south to the northern suburbs of Sydney and the Illawarra region of New South Wales. They inhabit rainforests and wet Eucalypt forests, but can also be found in drier scrubs.
Their diet is insects, seeds and fallen fruits, which are exposed by raking the leaf litter or breaking open rotten logs with their large feet. Most food is obtained from the ground, with birds occasionally feeding on ripening fruits among tree branches.
They are communal birds and have communal nests; a group consists of a dominant male, one or more younger males and several females. The nest is a large mound of leaves, other combustible material and earth about 4 m in diameter and 1 m high. The eggs are incubated by the heat given off by the rotting vegetation with the male maintaining a constant temperature by digging holes in the mound, inserting his bill to check the heat and then adding and removing vegetable matter as required. Hatchlings are fully feathered, can walk and fend for themselves immediately and are able to fly a few hours after hatching.