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 spot. It is described by its Latin name: ailur -cat, oidos -singing, melas -black and otus -ear.
Until 2016, A. melanotis was given the English common name of spotted catbird, this name has now been reassigned to A. maculosus. Martin Irestedt and colleagues examined the black-eared, spotted- and green catbird species complex genetically and found there were seven distinct lineages: the green catbird (A. crassirostris ) of eastern Australia and the spotted catbird (A. maculosus ) of eastern Queensland being the earliest offshoots, followed by the Huon catbird (A. astigmaticus ) and black-capped catbird (A. melanocephalus ) of eastern New Guinea, the Arfak catbird (A. arfakianus ) of the Bird's Head (Vogelkop) Peninsula, the northern catbird (A. jobiensis ) of central-northern New Guinea, and black-eared catbird (A.melanotis ) of southwestern New Guinea, Aru Islands and far North Queensland. These latter six species were all formerly subspecies before being split from A. melanotis.
