Spotted Flycatcher
Muscicapa striata (Pallas, 1764)
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
The spotted flycatcher (Muscicapa striata) is a small passerine bird in the Old World flycatcher family. It breeds in most of Europe and in the Palearctic to Siberia, and is migratory, wintering in Africa and south western Asia. It is declining in parts of its range.
This is an undistinguished looking bird with long wings and tail. The adults have grey-brown upperparts and whitish underparts, with a streaked crown and breast, giving rise to the bird's common name. The legs are short and black, and the bill is black and has the broad but pointed shape typical of aerial insectivores. Juveniles are browner than adults and have spots on the upperparts.
Wikipedia contributors, Spotted flycatcher; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T07:15:32.084390+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Muscicapa striata (Pallas, 1764)
- Name authority
- (Pallas, 1764)
- Common name
- Spotted Flycatcher
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Muscicapidae
- Genus
- Muscicapa
- Extinction status
- Recorded extant
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classAves
- orderPasseriformes
- familyMuscicapidae Fleming, 1822
- genusMuscicapa Brisson, 1760
- speciesMuscicapa striata (Pallas, 1764)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Muscicapa. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Böhm's FlycatcherMuscicapa boehmi (Reichenow, 1884) | MuscicapidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Ashy FlycatcherMuscicapa caerulescens (Hartlaub, 1865) | MuscicapidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Muscicapa latirostris Raffles, 1822 | MuscicapidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Chapin's FlycatcherMuscicapa lendu (Chapin, 1932) | MuscicapidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Brown-breasted FlycatcherMuscicapa muttui (E. L. Layard, 1854) | MuscicapidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Rusty-tailed FlycatcherMuscicapa ruficauda Swainson, 1838 | MuscicapidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Tessmann's FlycatcherMuscicapa tessmanni (Reichenow, 1907) | MuscicapidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Ussher's FlycatcherMuscicapa ussheri (Sharpe, 1871) | MuscicapidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| African Dusky FlycatcherMuscicapa adusta (F. Boie, 1828) | MuscicapidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Swamp FlycatcherMuscicapa aquatica Heuglin, 1864 | MuscicapidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Cassin's FlycatcherMuscicapa cassini Heine, 1860 | MuscicapidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Dusky-blue FlycatcherMuscicapa comitata (Cassin, 1857) | MuscicapidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=561250 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:44Q67. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.