[2] It is monotypic across its limited range, but forms a superspecies with the red warbler, which is found in the highlands of Mexico, north of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec.

The authors recommended moving the red and pink-headed warblers back to the genus Cardellina,[4] which has been adopted by the International Ornithologists' Union (IOC).

The genus name Cardellina is the diminutive of the Italian cardella, a regional name for the European goldfinch,[6] while its specific name, versicolor, is Latin for 'of changeable or various colors'.

[7] The latter is a reference to the warbler's changeable head color, which, depending on the angle of the viewer, looks either frosty pink or a deeper red than the rest of its body.

[13] The pink-headed warbler's call is high, thin, and somewhat metallic, variously transcribed as tsiu, ssing or tseeip.

[8] While its calls are heard year-round, the pink-headed warbler sings mostly between February and May, and is silent during the rainy month of June.

[3] There is some evidence that volcanic eruptions, which can coat vegetation with thick ash and impact insect populations, cause declines in pink-headed warbler numbers.

[10][15] In the spring, the male begins singing on good weather days in early February and continues for the next several months, with song frequency peaking between March and May.

[8] The female alone incubates for 16 days,[16] sitting within the domed nest with her tail sticking out of the opening and her head turned so she can see out.

[8] Across its range, pink-headed warbler numbers are declining, primarily because the cloud forest upon which it depends is becoming increasingly fragmented.

[20] However, in recent years it has become the least common of all wintering and resident warbler species in the highlands of northern Chiapas, based on point counts there.