The International Ornithological Congress followed suit in 2022 based on studies noting differences in plumage, mtDNA divergence, and assortative mating between both species in captivity.

The Indonesian species was described in 1817 by Louis Pierre Vieillot in his Nouveau Dictionnaire d'Histoire Naturelle, where he gave it the scientific name Fringilla guttata.

The present-day distribution of the species T. guttata is likely due to a Pleistocene glaciation event where the sea level dropped between about 100 and 150 metres (330 and 490 ft), putting the coasts of Timor and Australia closer.

This allowed T. castanotis swept out to sea by cyclones to see mountains near the west coast of Timor, which prompted them to make landfall on the island.

[11] The Australian zebra finch is used worldwide in several research fields (e.g. neurobiology, physiology, behaviour, ecology and evolution) as individuals are easy to maintain and breed in captivity.