The muscicape is found in some medieval encyclopedias. From the description it is probably a flycatcher. The Latin name also suggests this: musca is "fly" and capere is "capture". It is said to be a slow flier, but is able to catch flies and gnats because it has a very wide mouth. This serves it better than if it was fast with a narrow mouth.

Muscicapa is a genus of passerine birds belonging to the Old World flycatcher family Muscicapinae.