 In 1848, the Belgian scientist Edmond de Sélys Longchamps coined the scientific name "Apterornis coerulescens" based on the account of the French traveller Sieur Dubois (on Réunion from 1669 to 1672, the first to mention the bird).The specific name is Latin for "bluish, becoming blue".Selys Longchamps also included two other Mascarene birds at the time only known from contemporary accounts in the genus "Apterornis", the red rail (now "Aphanapteryx bonasia") and the Réunion solitaire (now "Threskiornis solitarius").