Several unrelated groups of songbirds are called catbirds because of their wailing calls, which resemble a cat's meowing. The genus name ''Ailuroedus'' likewise is from the Greek for "cat-singer" or "cat-voiced". Australasian catbirds are the

genera Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nomenclat ...

Ailuroedus ''Ailuroedus'' is a genus of birds in the bowerbird family, Ptilonorhynchidae, native to forests in Australia and New Guinea. The common name, catbird, refers to these species' "wailing cat-like calls". The scientific name ''Ailuroedus'' is der ...

'' and the monotypic ''

Scenopooetes The tooth-billed bowerbird (''Scenopoeetes dentirostris''), also known as the stagemaker bowerbird or tooth-billed catbird, is a medium-sized (approximately long) bowerbird. It is a stocky olive-brown bird with brown-streaked buffish white under ...

''. They belong to the

bowerbird Bowerbirds () make up the bird family Ptilonorhynchidae. They are renowned for their unique courtship behaviour, where males build a structure and decorate it with sticks and brightly coloured objects in an attempt to attract a mate. The family ...

family (Ptilonorhynchidae) of the

basal Basal or basilar is a term meaning ''base'', ''bottom'', or ''minimum''. Science * Basal (anatomy), an anatomical term of location for features associated with the base of an organism or structure * Basal (medicine), a minimal level that is nec ...

songbirds: *

Ochre-breasted catbird The ochre-breasted catbird (''Ailuroedus stonii'') is a species of bird in the family Ptilonorhynchidae. It is found in southern New Guinea. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests and subtropical or tropical moist lowland fo ...

(''Ailuroedus stonii'') *

White-eared catbird The white-eared catbird (''Ailuroedus buccoides'') is a species of bird in the family Ptilonorhynchidae found on New Guinea and the West Papuan Islands. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forest and subtropical or tropical mois ...

(''Ailuroedus buccoides'') *

Tan-capped catbird The tan-capped catbird (''Ailuroedus geislerorum'') is a species of bird in the family Ptilonorhynchidae. It is found in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests and subtropical or tropical mois ...

(''Ailuroedus geislerorum'') * Green catbird (''Ailuroedus crassirostris'') * Spotted catbird (''Ailuroedus melanotis'') *

Huon catbird The Huon catbird (''Ailuroedus astigmaticus'') is a species of bowerbird (Ptilonorhynchidae) which can be found in northeastern New Guinea. This species was formerly considered a subspecies of the spotted catbird before being reclassified as a di ...

(''Ailuroedus astigmaticus'') *

Black-eared catbird The black-eared catbird (''Ailuroedus melanotis'') is a species of bowerbird (Ptilonorhynchidae) which can be found northern Queensland and New Guinea, including its surrounding islands. They are named after their cat-like wails and black ear ...

(''Ailuroedus melanotis'') *

Arfak catbird The Arfak catbird (''Ailuroedus arfakianus'') is a species of bowerbird (Ptilonorhynchidae) which can be found in the Bird's Head Peninsula, Bird's Head (Vogelkop) Peninsula in western New Guinea. This species was formerly considered a subspecie ...

(''Ailuroedus arfakianus'') *

Northern catbird The Northern catbird (''Ailuroedus jobiensis'') is a species of bowerbird (Ptilonorhynchidae) which can be found in central-northern New Guinea. This species was formerly considered a subspecies of the spotted catbird before being reclassified a ...

(''Ailuroedus jobiensis'') New World catbirds are two monotypic genera from the

mimid __NOTOC__ The mimids are the New World family of passerine birds, Mimidae, that includes thrashers, mockingbirds, tremblers, and the New World catbirds. As their name (Latin for "mimic") suggests, these birds are notable for their vocalization, ...

family (Mimidae) of the passeridan superfamily

Muscicapoidea Muscicapoidea is a superfamily belonging to the infraorder Passerides containing the Old World flycatchers, thrushes, starlings and their allies. The superfamily contains around 670 species. Within the parvorder Muscicapida, Muscicapoidea is s ...

. Among the Mimidae, they represent independent basal lineages probably closer to the Caribbean thrasher and trembler assemblage than to the mockingbirds and '' Toxostoma'' thrashers: * Gray catbird, ''Dumetella carolinensis'' *

Black catbird The black catbird (''Melanoptila glabrirostris'') is a songbird species in the monotypic genus ''Melanoptila'', part of the family Mimidae. At in length and in mass, it is the smallest of the mimids. Sexes appear similar, with glossy black pl ...

, ''Melanoptila glabrirostris'' The

Abyssinian catbird The Abyssinian catbird or juniper babbler (''Sylvia galinieri'') is a species of bird in the family Sylviidae. (It is unrelated to other birds with the common name catbird). It is Endemism, endemic to Ethiopia where it is found in highland forest ...

(''Sylvia galinieri'') is found in Africa. It was previously considered represents a monotypic genus ''Parophasma''. GrrlScientist. (2011, June 21). Mystery bird: ETHIOPIAN CATBIRD, Parophasma galinieri. Retrieved March 5, 2021, from https://www.theguardian.com/science/punctuated-equilibrium/2011/jun/22/1

Footnotes

References

* Barber, Brian R.; Martínez-Gómez, Juan E. & Peterson, A. Townsend (2004): Systematic position of the Socorro mockingbird ''Mimodes graysoni''. '' J. Avian Biol.'' 35: 195–198. PDF fulltext
* Hunt, Jeffrey S.; Bermingham, Eldredge; & Ricklefs, Robert E. (2001): Molecular systematics and biogeography of Antillean thrashers, tremblers, and mockingbirds (Aves: Mimidae). ''

Auk An auk or alcid is a bird of the family Alcidae in the order Charadriiformes. The alcid family includes the murres, guillemots, auklets, puffins, and murrelets. The word "auk" is derived from Icelandic ''álka'', from Old Norse ''alka'' (a ...

'' 118(1): 35–55. DOI:10.1642/0004-8038(2001)118 035:MSABOA.0.CO;2PDF fulltext
* Rowland, Peter (2008): ''Bowerbirds''. CSIRO Publishing. {{ISBN, 0-643-09420-2Excerpt
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