 Named "Loxioides bailleui" by him, it was for some times united with several other "parrot-billed" Hawaiian honeycreeper species in "Psittirostra".In the process of describing the bird in print, Oustalet (or the printer) inadvertently transposed Ballieu's name to "bailleui," as represented in the specific name.Currently, the palila has again been moved to genus "Loxioides", which was long considered monotypic.