The genus was erected by the German ornithologists Jean Cabanis and Ferdinand Heine in 1860.[1] The type species is the black-headed antbird.[2] The name of the genus comes from the Ancient Greek words perknos meaning "dark" or "dusky" and stolē meaning "dress" or "clothing".[3]
The genus previously included the white-lined antbird but a genetic study published in 2013 found that it is embedded within Myrmoborus.[5]