 When Philip Sclater first described the black catbird in 1858 , from a specimen collected in Omoa Honduras , he assigned it to the monotypic genus Melanoptila , which he created at the same time . At least one subsequent ornithologist assigned the species to the genus Turdus , believing it to be a thrush , but most agreed with Sclater 's assessment . DNA studies have since shown that it is most closely related to various endemic Antillean mimids and the gray catbird , and it is sometimes included with the latter species in the genus <unk> . Although some taxonomists place the birds from Mexico 's Cozumel Island in a separate subspecies ( M. g. <unk> ) , most authorities do not feel that such distinction is warranted and the species is generally regarded as monotypic throughout its range . 
