(Part of the) common name of most species of the subfamily Muscicapinae of the family Muscicapidae and of many species of the family Tyrannidae (both Passeriformes, suborder Oscines) and in the plural the general term for the subfamily Muscicapinae. In the form 'tyrant-flycatchers' general term for the Tyrannidae family for which other common names are 'tyrant', 'kingbird', and 'phoebe'. Flycatchers (Muscicapinae) were originally considered (in a 'narrow' sense) as small Old World songbirds with a short tarsus, and having a flat broad bill surrounded by long bristles, preying on insects caught in the air, often by hunting in dense foliage. The Pied Flycatcher of Europe and its close relatives are typical examples of this kind. Many species of the subfamily breed in more tropical areas though and are more like warblers or chats. Their plumage is often brightly coloured and many species are sexually dimorphic. The tail is usually truncated, but it may be fan-shaped as in the fantails of the Oriental and Australasian Regions, or more than twice the length of the body as in some males of the paradise flycatchers. Some tropical genera have characteristic ornamental wattles or eyerings. Flycatchers are confined to the Old World and differ from the tyrant-flycatchers of the New World by a different vocal apparatus. All palaearctic species winter in the tropics. Tyrant-flycatchers (±300 species confined to the Americas) resemble the Old World flycatchers in many respects and differ from them merely in the pattern of the primaries and tarsal (body) characters. On the whole they are less brightly coloured and much less capable of singing.

Alternative forms for flycatchers : Ficedula, flycatcher, Muscicapa.