The collared owlet and the Sunda owlet were formerly included in the genus Glaucidium. They were moved to the resurrected genus Taenioptynx based on a molecular phylogenetic study published in 2019.[1][2] The genus Taenioptynx had been introduced by the German naturalist Johann Jakob Kaup in 1848 with the collared owlet as the type species.[3] The genus name combines the Ancient Greektainia meaning "band" or "stripe" with ptunx meaning "owl".[4]
^ abGill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (January 2021). "Owls". IOC World Bird List Version 11.1. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 17 May 2021.