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 Ailuroedus and the monotypic Scenopooetes. They belong to the bowerbird family (Ptilonorhynchidae) of the basal songbirds:
White-eared catbird, Ailuroedus buccoides
Spotted catbird, Ailuroedus melanotis
Green catbird, Ailuroedus crassirostris
Tooth-billed catbird, Scenopooetes dentirostris
New World catbirds are two monotypic genera from the mimid family (Mimidae) of the passeridan superfamily Muscicapoidea. 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, Melanoptila glabrirostris
Source: wikipedia
