The genus Cincloramphus was introduced by the English ornithologist and bird artist John Gould in 1838 with the brown songlark as the type species.[1][2] The name combines the Ancient Greek kinklos meaning "thrush" with rhamphos meaning "bill".[3]
A comprehensive molecular phylogenetic study of the family Locustellidae published in 2018 found that many of the genera were non-monophyletic. In the resulting reorganization the genera Megalurulus and Buettikoferella became junior synonyms of the resurrected genus Cincloramphus.[4][5]