The Fernwren is a small bird of wet upland forest in northeastern Australia. It probes leaf litter with its fine bill while searching for small animals.
The body is mainly olive-brown, with a speckled white forehead, white eyebrow, partial white eye-ring, white throat and a large black crescent across the upper breast. Females may have a slightly paler crown than males.
It mainly hunts on the forest floor, probing and turning litter with its bill for arthropods and small vertebrates. It sometimes searches foliage on low or fallen branches.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.