 While Meinertzhagen described several dozen species and subspecies (including others named after Clay), he was later found to have stolen specimens and falsified records, and this may be the only verifiably genuine taxon he described.Meinertzhagen placed this species in the genus "Montifringilla", which some classifications continue to place it in, along with about eight species of 'snowfinches'.Among these species, it is most similar to Blanford's snowfinch, which has similar plumage and essentially the same nesting habits.