One of several similar species of black-headed honeyeaters in the genus Melithreptus, it dwells in dry sclerophyll eucalypt woodland.

[2] The specific epithet is derived from the Latin luna, meaning 'moon'; this refers to the crescent-shaped, white marking on its nape.

[3] More recently, DNA analysis has shown honeyeaters to be related to the Pardalotidae (pardalotes), Acanthizidae (Australian warblers, scrubwrens, thornbills, etc.

[4] Gilbert's honeyeater, found in southwest Western Australia, was initially described as a separate species by John Gould in 1844,[5] before being reclassified as a subspecies of the white-naped for many years.

However, a molecular study published in 2010 showed that it had diverged before the split of populations in eastern Australia into the white-naped and black-headed honeyeaters.