Entirely dark with an obvious white mark from the forehead down between the bill and eye.

Varies regionally, with Mindanao birds having an additional white mark in the wing.

The white-fronted tit was formally described by the Italian ornithologist Tommaso Salvadori in 1865 under the binomial name Melaniparus semilarvatus.

[4][5] The genus Sittiparus had originally been erected by the Belgium politician and naturalist Edmond de Sélys Longchamps in 1884 with the varied tit as the type species.

A fledged juvenile was seen in March and adults in breeding condition with enlarged gonads have been collected in May.