It is a member of the tanager family Thraupidae falls under the subfamily Coerebinae, which also includes Darwin's finches.

The Cuban bullfinch (Melopyrrha nigra) is an endemic species found exclusively in Cuba.

The IUCN categorizes it as a near threatened species due to its vulnerable status.

The Cuban bullfinch was formally described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae under the binomial name Loxia nigra.

[6] The Cuban bullfinch is now one of five species placed in the genus Melopyrrha that was introduced in 1853 by the French naturalist Charles Lucien Bonaparte.