Subspecies
Vinaceous Firefinch (Lagonosticta vinacea) and Black-throated Firefinch (Lagonosticta larvata) have been lumped into Lagonosticta larvata following Dowsett and Forbes-Watson (1993).
Subspecies vinacea and nigricollis sometimes treated together as forming a separate species, differing from nominate in the amount of red, pink and grey in plumage. However, in preliminary mitochondrial phylogeny, nominate subspecies (from Ethiopia) and nigricollis (from Cameroon) appear closer to each other than to vinacea (from Senegal and Gambia) and share a more recent common ancestor. There are no apparent differences among subspecies in vocalizations.
Proposed subspecies togoensis (described from Kete Kratschi, in Togo) is treated as a synonym of nigricollis.
The following 3 subspecies are recognised:
vinacea (Hartlaub, 1857) - Senegal and Gambia east to Guinea and western Mali (to Mandinga Mts). Considered by some authors to be a distinct species, Vinaceous Firefinch (Lagonosticta vinacea).
nigricollis Heuglin, 1863 - Southern Mali east to western and southern Sudan, north-eastern DRCongo (Uele) and Uganda. Considered by some authors to be a distinct species, Grey Firefinch (Lagonosticta nigricollis).
larvata (Rüppell, 1840) - Extreme eastern Sudan (Gallabat) and Ethiopia.