In 1934, the monophyly of this group was proposed by Finn Salomonsen but the traditional assignments of these birds were maintained, mistaken by their convergent evolution and the lack of dedicated research.

It was not until the analysis of mtDNA cytochrome b and 16S rRNA[2][3] as well as nDNA RAG-1 and RAG-2 exon sequence data,[4] that the long-proposed grouping was accepted.

The first phylogeny of the Bernieridae to include all eleven recognized species was performed by Younger et al. 2019:[6]X. zosterops X. cinereiceps X. apperti X. tenebrosa Crossleyia xanthophrys Cryptosylvicola randrianasoloi Oxylabes madagascariensis B. sp.

Additionally, Bernieria madagascariensis appears to be composed of three deeply diverging lineages, which may each deserve species status.

Most members of this family live in the humid rainforests in the east of Madagascar, though a few species are found in the drier southwest of the island.