 It was formerly considered conspecific with black-fronted white-eye, "Zosterops minor", but work by Pamela C. Rasmussen and her colleagues showed that it is a separate species.The same research also confirmed the specific status of the Sangihe white-eye, "Zosterops nehrkorni".Compared to related taxa, the bill of Seram white-eye is paler, deeper, and broader at the base.