The Pilotbird is distributed in south-east New South Wales and south-east Victoria. It is found in temperate rainforest and wet eucalyptus forest where it forages for invertebrates amongst the leaf litter on the ground.

There are two sub-species. This is P. f. sandlandi which is smaller than the nominate with a lighter brown back and pale rather than dark scalloping on the belly.

It gets its name from its habit of accompanying Superb Lyrebird Menura novaehollandiae benefiting from the latter's scraping of the ground much in the way that pilotfish benefit from proximity to sharks.