In 1760 the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson included a description of the red fody in his Ornithologie based on a specimen collected in Madagascar. He used the French name Le cardinal de Madagascar and the Latin Cardinalis Madagascariensis.
The description of the red fody by Mathurin Jacques Brisson in 1760 was based on a specimen collected in Madagascar. He used the French title Le cardinal de Madagascar and the scientific designation Cardinalis Madagascariensis.