[citation needed] The black-lored parrot was described in 1779 by the French polymath, the Comte de Buffon in his Histoire Naturelle des Oiseaux.

[3] When in 1788 the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin revised and expanded Carl Linnaeus's Systema Naturae, he included the black-lored parrot with a short description, coined the binomial name Psittacus gramineus and cited Buffon's works.

[4] The black-lored parrot is now one of four species placed in the genus Tanygnathus that was introduced by the German naturalist Johann Wagler in 1832.

Migration is relatively weak and there are only few reports of the parrots flying up and down hill at high altitudes overnight, as judged from their voices.

[1] The establishment of two protected areas on Buru, Gunung Kapalat Mada (1,380 km2) and Waeapo (50 km2), are partly aimed at preserving the habitat of the black-lored parrot.