[3] The white-throated screech owl was described by the American ornithologist John Cassin in 1849 and given the binomial name Syrnium albo-gularis.

The species has sometimes been placed in the monotypic genus Macabra, but DNA studies show it is closely related to several other Megascops owls.

Adults of the nominate subspecies have a dark brown head and upperparts with small blackish, reddish, and white marks.

The juvenile is pale buffy gray and has a black "mask" and barring on its crown, mantle, and underparts.

[5] M. a. meridensis has a whitish forehead and eyebrows, a suggestion of a nuchal collar, and a paler belly than the nominate.

M. a. obscurus and M. a. remotus are darker than the nominate, blackish above with few lighter spots, a dark breast, and only faint bars and streaks on the belly.