European goldfinch
The citril finch was formally described by the German zoologist Peter Simon Pallas in 1764 under the binomial name "Fringilla citrinella". The current genus name "Carduelis" is the Latin word for the European goldfinch, and the specific epithet "citrinella" is the Italian word for a small yellow bird. It is a diminutive of the Latin "citrinus" meaning citrine or light greenish-yellow. The Corsican finch ("Carduelis corsicana") was at one time considered as conspecific with the citril finch, but is now treated as a separate species. Molecular genetic studies have shown that the citril finch is closely related to the European goldfinch ("Carduelis carduelis").