 The species was therefore assigned to a separate genus "Neosericornis", which had been proposed by Mathews in 1912.The generic name "Neosericornis" derives from the Ancient Greek "neos" 'new', "serikos" 'silken', and "ornis" 'bird'.The yellow-throated scrubwren measures 12.5–15 cm (5–6 in) in length.