The fawn-breasted waxbill was formally described in 1863 by the German explorer and ornithologist Theodor von Heuglin from a specimen collected on the middle course of the Bahr el Ghazal River in South Sudan.
The fawn-breasted waxbill was formally documented in 1863 by the German explorer and ornithologist Theodor von Heuglin from a specimen collected on the Bahr el Ghazal River's central part in South Sudan.