 The common name, red-tailed finch, was first used by Gould (1884) and was in near universal use from Hall (1899) until 1926 when the term Star Finch appeared in the Royal Australasian Ornithological Union's (RAOU) second Official Checklist with no explanation for the change.Hombron and Jacquinot first uncounted these birds when they stopped off in Australia as part the French expedition to Antarctica of 1837-1840, traveling aboard the "Astrolabe.