The white-faced starling was formally described in 1854 by the English naturalist Edgar Leopold Layard under the binomial name Heterornis albofrontata.

[3] In the reoganization to create monotypic genera, the white-faced starling was moved to the resurrected genus Sturnornis that had been introduced in 1879 by William Vincent Legge.

[5] For many years this species was erroneously believed to have been first described in 1850 by French naturalist Charles Lucien Bonaparte under the binomial name Pastor senex.

[6] An examination in 1997 of the specimen used by Bonaparte revealed that his brief description applied to Sturnus sericeus Gmelin, JF, 1789, the red-billed starling.

[7][8] The adults of these 22 cm-long birds have green-glossed dark grey upperparts and whitish underparts.