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{{Short description|Family of birds}}
{{About|the old world flycatcher family ''Muscicapidae''|the new world Tyrant Flycatcher family ''Tyrannidae''|Tyrant flycatcher||Flycatcher (disambiguation){{!}}Flycatcher}}
{{Automatic taxobox
| name = Old World flycatchers
| image = White-eyed slaty flycatcher.jpg
| image_upright = 1.2
| image_caption = [[White-eyed slaty flycatcher]],<br/>(''Melaenornis fischeri'')
| taxon = Muscicapidae
| authority = [[John Fleming (naturalist)|Fleming J.]], 1822
| subdivision_ranks = Genera
| subdivision = See text
}}

The '''Old World flycatchers''' are a large family, the '''Muscicapidae''', of small [[passerine]] [[bird]]s restricted to the [[Old World]] ([[Europe]], [[Africa]] and [[Asia]]), with the exception of several vagrants and two species, [[bluethroat]] (''Luscinia svecica'') and [[northern wheatear]] (''Oenanthe oenanthe''), found also in North America. These are mainly small arboreal [[insectivore]]s, many of which, as the name implies, take their [[prey]] on the wing. The family includes 352 species and is divided into 53 [[genera]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Chats, Old World flycatchers – IOC World Bird List |url=https://www.worldbirdnames.org/new/bow/chats/ |access-date=2023-07-29 |website=www.worldbirdnames.org}}</ref>

==Taxonomy==
The name Muscicapa for the family was introduced by the Scottish naturalist [[John Fleming (naturalist)|John Fleming]] in 1822.<ref>{{ cite book | last=Fleming | first=John | author-link=John Fleming (naturalist)| year=1822 | title=The philosophy of zoology; or a general view of the structure, functions, and classification of animals. Volume 2 | volume=2 | publisher=Hurst, Robinson & Co | place=Edinburgh | page=240 | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/28230398 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book | last=Bock | first=Walter J. | year=1994 | title=History and nomenclature of avian family-group names | series=Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History Issue 222 | page=116 | hdl=2246/830 }}</ref> The word had earlier been used for the genus ''[[Muscicapa]]'' by the French zoologist [[Mathurin Jacques Brisson]] in 1760.<ref>{{ cite book | last=Brisson | first=Mathurin Jacques | author-link=Mathurin Jacques Brisson | year=1760 | title=Ornithologie; ou, Méthode contenant la division des oiseaux en ordres, sections, genres, espéces & leurs variétés. &c. | publisher=Jean-Baptiste Bauche | place=Paris | at=[https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/36010429 Vol. 1 p. 32], [https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/36011661 Vol. 2 p. 357] | language=la, fr}}</ref> Muscicapa comes from the Latin ''[[wikt:musca|musca]]'' meaning a fly and ''[[wikt:capio|capere]]'' to catch.<ref>{{cite book | last= Jobling | first= James A. | year= 2010| title= The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names | url= https://archive.org/details/Helm_Dictionary_of_Scientific_Bird_Names_by_James_A._Jobling | publisher=Christopher Helm | location = London, United Kingdom | isbn = 978-1-4081-2501-4 | page=[https://archive.org/details/Helm_Dictionary_of_Scientific_Bird_Names_by_James_A._Jobling/page/n260 260]}}</ref><ref>{{L&S|musca1|musca}}, {{L&S|capio1|capere|ref}}</ref>

In 1910 the German ornithologist [[Ernst Hartert]] found it impossible to define boundaries between the three families Muscicapidae, [[Sylviidae]] (Old World warblers) and [[Turdidae]] (thrushes). He therefore treated them as subfamilies of an extended flycatcher family that also included [[Timaliidae]] (Old World babblers) and [[Monarchidae]] (Monarch flycatchers).<ref>{{ cite book | last1=Hartert | first1=Ernst | year=1910 | title=Die Vögel der paläarktischen Fauna systematische Übersicht der in Europa, Nord-Asien und der Mittelmeerregion vorkommenden Vögel. Volume 1 | volume=1 | page=469 | publisher=R. Friedländer & Sohn | place=Berlin | language=de | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/14030276 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book| last1=Taylor | first1=B. | chapter=Old World Flycatchers (Muscicapidae) | editor1-last=del Hoyo | editor1-first=J. | editor2-last=Elliott | editor2-first=A. | editor3-last=Sargatal | editor3-first=J. | editor4-last=Christie | editor4-first=D.A. | editor5-last=de Juana | editor5-first=E. | title=Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive | year=2020 | publisher=Lynx Edicions | doi=10.2173/bow.muscic3.01 | s2cid=216288554 | chapter-url=http://www.hbw.com/node/52322 | access-date=30 May 2016}}{{subscription required}}</ref> Forty years later a similar arrangement was adopted by the American ornithologists [[Ernst Mayr]] and [[Dean Amadon]] in an article published in 1951. Their large family Muscicapidae which they termed the "primitive insect eaters" contained 1460 species divided into eight subfamilies.<ref>{{ cite book | last1=Mayr | first1=E. | author1-link=Ernst Mayr | last2=Amadon | first2=D. | author2-link=Dean Amadon | year=1951 | title=A Classification of Recent Birds | series=American Museum Novitates, Number 1496 | publisher=American Museum of Natural History | place=New York | pages=17–19, 36–37 | hdl=2246/3994 }}</ref> The use of the extended group was endorsed by a committee set up following the Eleventh International Ornithological Congress held in Basel in 1954.<ref>{{ cite journal | last1=Mayr | first1=E. | last2=Greenway | first2=J.C. Jr. | year=1956 | title=Sequence of passerine families (Aves) | journal=Breviora | publisher=Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard | volume=58 | pages=1–11 | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/3189827 }}</ref> Subsequent [[DNA–DNA hybridization]] studies by [[Charles Sibley]] and others showed that the subfamilies were not closely related to one another. As a result, the large group was broken up into a number of separate families,<ref>{{ cite book | editor1-last=Mayr | editor1-first=E. | editor2-last=William | editor2-first=C.G. | year=1986 | title=Check-list of Birds of the World. Volume 11 | volume=11 | publisher=Museum of Comparative Zoology | place=Cambridge, Massachusetts | pages=v–vi | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/14483694 }}</ref> although for a while most authorities continued to retain the thrushes in Muscicapidae.<ref>{{ cite book | last1=Sibley | first1=C.G. | last2=Monroe | first2=B.L. | year=1993 | title=A Supplement to Distribution and Taxonomy of Birds of the World | place=New Haven, Connecticut | publisher=Yale University Press | isbn=978-0-300-05549-8 }}</ref><ref>{{ cite book | last1=Clement | first1=P. | last2=Hathway | first2=R. | year=2000 | title=Helm Identification Guides: Thrushes | place=London | publisher=Christopher Helm | isbn=978-07136-3940-7 | page=28 }}</ref> In 1998 the [[American Ornithologists' Union]] chose to treat the thrushes as a separate family in the seventh edition of their ''Check-list of North American birds'' and subsequently most authors have followed their example.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{cite book | author=Committee on Classification and Nomenclature | year=1998 | title=Check-list of North American birds | edition=7th | publisher=American Ornithologists' Union | place=Washington D.C. | isbn=1-891276-00-X | page=495 | url=http://americanornithology.org/sites/default/files/files/imce-img/AOUchecklistPass-Mimidae.pdf#80 | access-date=2016-07-08 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151118161854/http://americanornithology.org/sites/default/files/files/imce-img/AOUchecklistPass-Mimidae.pdf#80 | archive-date=2015-11-18 | url-status=dead }}</ref>

==Description==
The appearance of these birds is very varied, but they mostly have weak songs and harsh calls. They are small to medium birds, ranging from 9 to 22 cm in length.<ref name="HBW11">del Hoyo, J.; Elliot, A. & Christie D. (editors). (2006). ''[[Handbook of the Birds of the World]]''. Volume 11: Old World Flycatchers to Old World Warblers. Lynx Edicions. {{ISBN|84-96553-06-X}}.</ref> Many species are dull brown in colour, but the [[plumage]] of some can be much brighter, especially in the males.<ref>{{Cite web
|url=http://www.artfullbirds.com/Old%20World%20Flycatchers.html
|title=Old World Flycatchers Muscicapidae
|work=artfullbirds.com
|access-date=June 3, 2010}}</ref> Most have broad, flattened bills suited to catching insects in flight, although the few ground-foraging species typically have finer bills.<ref name=EoB>{{cite book |last=Perrins |first=C. |editor-last=Forshaw |editor-first=Joseph |year=1991 |title=Encyclopaedia of Animals: Birds|publisher= Merehurst Press|location=London|pages= 194–195|isbn= 1-85391-186-0}}</ref>

Old World flycatchers live in almost every environment with a suitable supply of trees, from dense forest to open scrub, and even the montane woodland of the [[Himalayas]]. The more northerly species migrate south in winter, ensuring a continuous diet of insects.<ref name=EoB/>

Depending on the species, their [[bird nest|nest]]s are either well-constructed cups placed in a tree or cliff ledge, or simply lining in a pre-existing tree hole. The hole-nesting species tend to lay larger clutches, with an average of eight eggs, rather than just two to five.<ref name=EoB/>

==Genera==
The family formerly included fewer species. At the time of the publication of the third edition of [[Howard and Moore Complete Checklist of the Birds of the World]] in 2003, the genera ''[[Myophonus]]'', ''[[Alethe (genus)|Alethe]]'', ''[[Brachypteryx]]'' and ''[[Monticola]]'' were included in [[Turdidae]].<ref name=h&m3>{{cite book | editor1-last=Dickinson | editor1-first=E.C. | year=2003 | title=The Howard and Moore Complete Checklist of the Birds of the World | edition=3rd | place=London | publisher=Christopher Helm | isbn=978-0-7136-6536-9 }}</ref> Subsequent [[molecular phylogenetic]] studies have shown that the species in these four genera are more closely related to species in Muscicapidae.<ref name=voelker2004>{{ cite journal | last1=Voelker | first1=G. | last2=Spellman | first2=G.M. | year=2004 | title=Nuclear and mitochondrial DNA evidence of polyphyly in the avian superfamily Muscicapoidea | journal=Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution | volume=30 | issue= 2| pages=386–394 | doi=10.1016/S1055-7903(03)00191-X | pmid=14715230 }}</ref><ref name=sangster2010>{{ cite journal | last1=Sangster | first1=G. | last2=Alström | first2=P. | last3=Forsmark | first3=E. | last4=Olsson | first4=U. | year=2010 | title=Multi-locus phylogenetic analysis of Old World chats and flycatchers reveals extensive paraphyly at family, subfamily and genus level (Aves: Muscicapidae) | journal=Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution | volume=57 | issue=1 | pages=380–392 | doi=10.1016/j.ympev.2010.07.008 | pmid=20656044}}</ref> As a consequence, these four genera are now placed here.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=h&m4>{{cite book | editor1-last=Dickinson | editor1-first=E.C. | editor2-last=Christidis | editor2-first=L. | year=2014 | title=The Howard & Moore Complete Checklist of the Birds of the World. Volume 2, Passerines | edition=4th | publisher=Aves Press | place=Eastbourne, U.K. | isbn=978-0-9568611-2-2 | pages=584, 598, 601, 607 }}</ref> In contrast, the genus ''[[Cochoa]]'' which was previously placed in Muscicapidae has been shown to belong in Turdidae.<ref name=voelker2004/><ref name=sangster2010/>

Two large [[molecular phylogenetic]] studies of species within Muscicapidae published in 2010 showed that the genera ''Fraseria'', ''Melaenornis'' and ''Muscicapa'' were [[monophyletic|non-monophyletic]]. The authors were unable to propose revised genera as not all the species were sampled and not all the nodes in their phylogenies were strongly supported.<ref name=sangster2010/><ref>{{ cite journal | last1=Zuccon | first1=D. | last2=Ericson | first2=P.G.P. | year=2010 | title=A multi-gene phylogeny disentangles the chat-flycatcher complex (Aves: Muscicapidae) | journal=Zoologica Scripta | volume=39 | issue=3 | pages=213–224 | doi=10.1111/j.1463-6409.2010.00423.x | s2cid=85963319 }}</ref> A subsequent study published in 2016, that included 37 of the 42 Muscicapini species, confirmed that the genera were non-monophyletic and proposed a reorganised arrangement of the species with several new or resurrected genera.<ref>{{ cite journal | last1=Voelker | first1=G. | last2=Huntley | first2=J.W. | last3=Peñalba | first3=J.V. | last4=Bowie | first4=R.C.K. | year=2016 | title=Resolving taxonomic uncertainty and historical biogeographic patterns in ''Muscicapa'' flycatchers and their allies | journal=Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution | volume=94 | issue= Pt B| pages=618–625 | doi=10.1016/j.ympev.2015.09.026 | pmid=26475615| doi-access=free }}</ref>

===List of genera===
[[File:Madagascar magpie-robin (Copsychus albospecularis pica) female.jpg|thumb|Madagascar magpie-robin ''Copsychus albospecularis pica'']]
[[File:Silverbird in Murchison Falls National Park, Uganda.JPG|thumb|right|[[Silverbird (bird)|Silverbird]], monotypic genus ''Empidornis'']]
[[File:Tickell's Blue Flycatcher (Cyornis tickelliae) with feed W IMG 9340.jpg|thumb|[[Cyornis tickelliae|Tickell's blue flycatcher]], genus ''Cyornis'']]
[[File:Amber mountain rock thrush (Monticola sharpei erythronotus) male 2.jpg|thumb|Amber mountain rock thrush ''Monticola sharpei erythronotus'']]
[[File:Stonechat (Saxicola torquatus) male.jpg|thumb|European stonechat ''Saxicola torquatus'']]
[[File:Cyprus wheatear (Oenanthe cypriaca).jpg|thumb|upright|Cyprus wheatear ''Oenanthe cypriaca'']]

Muscicapid genera as listed by the [[International Ornithologists' Union]] with subdivisions proposed by [[George Sangster|Sangster]] ''et al'' (2010) and Zhao ''et al'' (2023):<ref name=":0" /><ref name=sangster2010/><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Zhao |first=Min |last2=Gordon Burleigh |first2=J. |last3=Olsson |first3=Urban |last4=Alström |first4=Per |last5=Kimball |first5=Rebecca T. |date=2023-01-01 |title=A near-complete and time-calibrated phylogeny of the Old World flycatchers, robins and chats (Aves, Muscicapidae) |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1055790322002597 |journal=Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution |language=en |volume=178 |pages=107646 |doi=10.1016/j.ympev.2022.107646 |issn=1055-7903}}</ref> For a complete list of species, see "[[List of Old World flycatcher species]]".

'''Family Muscicapidae'''
*'''Subfamily Muscicapinae''' ([[John Fleming (naturalist)|Fleming]], 1822)
**'''Tribe Copsychini''' (Sundevall, 1872)
***''[[Alethe (genus)|Alethe]]'' – alethes
***''[[Cercotrichas]]'' – scrub robins
***''[[Copsychus]]'' – magpie-robins or shamas
**'''Tribe Muscicapini''' (Fleming, 1822)
***''[[Agricola (bird)|Agricola]]''
***''[[Fraseria]]'' – forest flycatchers
***''[[Melaenornis]]''
***''[[Herero chat|Namibornis]]'' – single species: Herero chat
***''[[Silverbird (bird)|Empidornis]]'' – single species: silverbird
***''[[Sigelus]]'' – single species: fiscal flycatcher
***''[[Bradornis]]''
***''[[Humblotia (bird)|Humblotia]]'' – single species: Humblot's flycatcher
***''[[Muscicapa]]''
*'''Subfamily Niltavinae''' (Sangster, Alström, Forsmark and Olsson, 2010)<ref name=sangster2016>{{ cite journal | last1=Sangster | first1=G. | last2=Alström | first2=P. | last3=Forsmark | first3=Émile | last4=Olsson | first4=U. | year=2016 | title=Niltavinae, a new taxon of Old World flycatchers (Aves: Muscicapidae) | journal=Zootaxa | volume=4196 | issue=3 | pages=428–429 | doi=10.11646/zootaxa.4196.3.7 | pmid=27988667 | doi-access=free }}</ref>{{efn|The ornithologist Dario Zuccon pointed out that when George Sangster and colleagues erected the name "Niltavinae" for the subfamily, they did not provide a description as required by the [[International Code of Zoological Nomenclature]]. Sangster and colleagues subsequently published a description in 2016.<ref name=sangster2016/><ref name=zuccon2011>{{ cite journal | last=Zuccon | first=D. | year=2011 | title=Taxonomic notes on some Muscicapidae | journal=Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club | volume=131 | issue=3 | pages=196–199 | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/50781147 }}</ref>}}
**''[[Leucoptilon]]'' – single species: white-tailed flycatcher
**''[[Sholicola]]''<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Robin |first1=V.V. |last2=Vishnudas |first2=C. K. |last3=Gupta |first3=Pooja |last4=Rheindt |first4=Frank E. |last5=Hooper |first5=Daniel M. |last6=Ramakrishnan |first6=Uma |last7=Reddy |first7=Sushma |year=2017 |title=Two new genera of songbirds represent endemic radiations from the Shola Sky Islands of the Western Ghats, India |journal=BMC Evolutionary Biology |volume=17 |issue=1 |pages=31 |doi=10.1186/s12862-017-0882-6 |pmc=5259981 |pmid=28114902 |doi-access=free}}</ref> – sholakilis
**''[[Niltava]]'' – niltavas
**''[[Cyanoptila]]''
**''[[Eumyias]]'' – blue flycatchers
**''[[Anthipes]]''
**''[[Cyornis]]'' – blue flycatchers
*'''Subfamily Erithacinae''' ([[George Robert Gray|G.R. Gray]], 1846) – African forest robin assemblage{{efn|Dario Zuccon has argued that the correct name for the African forest robins assemblage is Cossyphinae (type genus ''Cossypha'' [[Nicholas Aylward Vigors|Vigors]], 1825) as the name predates Erithacinae (G.R. Gray, 1846).<ref name=zuccon2011/><ref>{{cite journal | last=Vigors | first=Nicholas Aylward | author-link=Nicholas Aylward Vigors | year=1825 | title=''Cossyphina'' | journal=Zoological Journal | volume=2 | page=395 | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/2255532}}</ref>}}
**''[[Erithacus]]'' – single species: European robin
**''[[Swynnertonia]]'' – single species: Swynnerton's robin
**''[[Pogonocichla]]'' – single species: white-starred robin
**''[[Stiphrornis]]'' – single species: forest robin
**''[[Cossyphicula]]'' – robin-chats
**''[[Chamaetylas]]'' – (4 species)
**''[[Cossypha]]'' – robin-chats
**''[[Cichladusa]]'' – palm thrushes
**''[[Angola cave chat|Xenocopsychus]]'' – single species: Angola cave chat
**''[[Dessonornis]]'' – robin-chats
**''[[Sheppardia]]'' – akalats
*'''Subfamily [[Saxicolinae]]''' ([[Nicholas Aylward Vigors|Vigors]], 1825)
**''[[Irania (bird)|Irania]]'' – single species: white-throated robin
**''[[Luscinia]]'' – nightingales and relatives
**''[[Myiomela]]''
**''[[Calliope (genus)|Calliope]]''
**''[[Enicurus]]'' – forktails
**''[[Cinclidium (bird)|Cinclidium]]'' – single species: blue-fronted robin
**''[[Myophonus]]'' – whistling thrushes
**''[[Heinrichia]]'' – single species: great shortwing
**''[[Vauriella]]''
**''[[Leonardina]]'' – single species: Bagobo babbler
**''[[Brachypteryx]]'' – shortwings
**''[[Larvivora]]'' – East and South-East Asian robins
**''[[Ficedula]]'' – flycatchers
**''[[Tarsiger]]'' – bush robins and bluetails
**''[[Heteroxenicus]]'' – single species: Gould's shortwing
**''[[Phoenicurus]]'' – redstarts
**''[[Monticola]]'' – rock thrushes
**''[[Saxicola]]'' – stonechats and chats
**''[[Campicoloides]]'' – single species: buff-streaked chat
**''[[Emarginata (genus)|Emarginata]]''
**''[[Pinarochroa]]'' – single species: moorland chat
**''[[Thamnolaea]]'' – cliff chats
**''[[Myrmecocichla]]''
**''[[Oenanthe (bird)|Oenanthe]]'' – wheatears

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==Further reading==
*{{cite journal | last1 = Jønsson | first1 = K.A. | last2 = Fjeldsa | first2 = J. | year = 2006 | title = A phylogenetic supertree of oscine passerine birds (Aves:Passeri) | journal = Zoologica Scripta | volume = 35 | issue = 2| pages = 149–186 | doi=10.1111/j.1463-6409.2006.00221.x| s2cid = 85317440 }}
*{{cite journal | last1 = Lei | first1 = X. | last2 = Lian | first2 = Z.-M. | last3 = Lei | first3 = F.-M. | last4 = Yin | first4 = Z.-H. | last5 = Zhao | first5 = H.-F. | year = 2007 | title = Phylogeny of some Muscicapinae birds based on cyt b mitochondrial gene sequences | url = http://www.actazool.org/temp/%7BAB343D2C-CFC7-4C84-A9F8-4D3FC951F969%7D.pdf | journal = Acta Zoologica Sinica | volume = 53 | issue = 1| pages = 95–105 }}
*{{cite journal | last1 = Outlaw | first1 = D.C. | last2 = Voelker | first2 = G. | year = 2006 | title = Systematics of Ficedula flycatchers (Muscicapidae): A molecular reassessment of a taxonomic enigma | url = http://www.umsl.edu/~outlawdc/PDFs/FicedulaSystematics.pdf | journal = Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution | volume = 41 | issue = 1 | pages = 118–126 | doi = 10.1016/j.ympev.2006.05.004 | pmid = 16797192 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070929115744/http://www.umsl.edu/~outlawdc/PDFs/FicedulaSystematics.pdf | archive-date = 2007-09-29 }}
*{{cite journal | last1 = Pan | first1 = Q.-W. | last2 = Lei | first2 = F.-M. | last3 = Yang | first3 = S.-J. | last4 = Yin | first4 = Z.-H. | last5 = Huang | first5 = Y. | last6 = Tai | first6 = F.-D. | last7 = Kristin | first7 = A. | year = 2006 | title = Phylogenetic analysis of some Turdinae birds based on mitochondrial cytochrome b gene sequences | url = http://www.actazool.org/temp/%7B52634248-F750-4043-938B-CE9375266E61%7D.pdf | journal = Acta Zoologica Sinica | volume = 52 | issue = 1| pages = 87–98 }}

==External links==

*[http://ibc.lynxeds.com/family/tyrant-flycatchers-tyrannidae Old World flycatcher videos] on the Internet Bird Collection
*{{Cite EB1911 |last=Newton |first=Alfred |authorlink=Alfred Newton |wstitle=Flycatcher |short=x}}
*{{Cite Americana |last=Ingersoll |first=Ernest |authorlink=Ernest Ingersoll |wstitle=Flycatcher |short=x}}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q200989}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Muscicapidae|*]]
[[Category:Taxa named by John Fleming (naturalist)]]

Old World flycatcher - Revision history

Stickerlabelingmachine at 19:18, 23 February 2026

Ajay Kumar: Created a new article