The dark-breasted rosefinch was formerly placed in the genusCarpodacus but was moved Procarduelis based on the results from the phylogenetic analyses of mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequences.[2][3]
Subspecies
Subspecific variation is mostly clinal, with the plumage becoming darker from west to east.[4] There are between two-three recognised subspecies:[5]
P. n. nipalensis – Hodgson, 1836: The nominate, it is found in the Himalayas, from Kumaon to Nepal, Sikkim, Bhutan, and southeastern Tibet. Populations from southwestern China, south Tibet, and northern Vietnam are sometimes separated as a distinct subspecies, P. n. intensicolor.
P. n. kangrae – Whistler, 1939: in the western Himalayas, from Kashmir to Garhwal.