Species group · Birds

Flycatchers

WAnimals has 3 species of flycatcher, all in the family Muscicapidae.

3 species
1 family
51 countries
275 parks
Weight
13 g – 20 g
Length
12 cm – 15 cm
Lifespan
3 – 9 years

Ranges calculated from the entries that record the figure, not from all 3.

All 3 species of flycatchers on WAnimals

Each one has its own full entry. This group does not replace them: it brings them together.

Conservation status

3 Least Concern

No species documented in this group is genuinely at risk according to the IUCN, with the data available today.

See the global conservation status

Where they live

Recorded in 51 countries. The ones with the most species in the group:

Where to see them

Did you know…

  • It takes insects on the wing from a branch and always returns to the same perch.

    From Spotted Flycatcher

  • Its hunting technique is unmistakable: it waits upright on a visible perch, darts out in a short, acrobatic flight to catch an insect in mid-air, and returns to exactly the same spot, repeating it dozens of times an hour.

    From Spotted Flycatcher

  • It is one of the last migrants to arrive in Spain in spring, often well into May, because it depends on flying insects being plentiful.

    From Spotted Flycatcher

  • It is one of the four black-and-white flycatcher species of the western Palearctic, and where it overlaps with the pied flycatcher it hybridises with it to a limited extent.

    From Collared Flycatcher

  • Its song consists of slow whistles, very different from those of the pied flycatcher, but in mixed populations pied flycatchers will imitate it.

    From Collared Flycatcher

  • A case of triparental care has been documented: two females and one male feeding a single brood.

    From Collared Flycatcher

  • It is a hole-nester and takes to nest boxes with enormous readiness, to the point that putting them up is the main measure used to help its populations.

    From European Pied Flycatcher

  • It practises polygyny, usually bigamy: the male travels long distances to win a second female and then returns to the first to help raise the brood.

    From European Pied Flycatcher

Ecosystems

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