Its taxonomic affinities were unclear for a long time, giving rise to other common names, the pink-tailed bunting and the Przewalski's rosefinch. In 2000 it was proposed that it should in fact be regarded neither as a finch nor a bunting, but as the only member of the family Urocynchramidae, something that had been originally proposed in the German ornithological literature as long ago as 1918 by Janusz von Domaniewski, and also by Wolters in 1979.
For a long time, the bird's evolutionary ties were unclear, causing confusion and leading to other names like the pink-tailed bunting and Przewalski's rosefinch. In 2000, it was proposed that it should be reclassified as a unique member of the family Urocynchramidae.