The plum-headed finch was formally described and illustrated in 1837 by the English ornithologist John Gould in his book A Synopsis of the Birds of Australia, and the Adjacent Islands.

[4] In the reorganization to create monophyletic genera, the plum-headed finch was moved to the genus Aidemosyne that had been introduced in 1862 by the German naturalist Ludwig Reichenbach.

The scientific name emphasizes the absence of the flamboyant livery typical of many Australian species, as the brown tones predominate in the plumage of this bird; the upper part of the body (nape, back, wings and tail) is in fact a deep brown color, with a tendency to darken on the tail, while the ventral area (cheeks, throat, chest, abdomen and hips) is beige color that turns towards white in the central part of the belly and on the undertail.

The plum-headed finch breeds mainly from September to January in the south and from August to March in the north.

The nest is round, laterally compressed chamber of green grass and is built in thick bushes.