The cliff flycatcher was formally described in 1788 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in his revised and expanded edition of Carl Linnaeus's Systema Naturae.

[2][3] Gmelin based his description on the "ferruginous bellied tody" from Cayenne that had been described in 1782 by the English ornithologist John Latham in his book A General Synopsis of Birds.

[1] Its natural habitat is in the vicinity of cliffs and gorges, canyons, rocky outcrops, quarries and road cuttings.

It is also found, particularly in the south of its range, around buildings in cities, where the windowsills and facades provide a form of artificial cliff.

[8] The cliff flycatcher perches in a prominent position, sallying to hawk for insects in spectacular aerial flying displays.