The forktails are small insectivorous birds in the genus Enicurus.

Their common name derives from their long forked tail.

The genus Enicurus was introduced in 1822 by the Dutch zoologist Coenraad Jacob Temminck to accommodate Enicurus coronatus, the white-crowned forktail, which is therefore the type species.

[3] Temminck's epithet is considered to be a junior synonym as four years earlier in 1818 Louis Vieillot had coined the binomial name Turdus leschenaulti for the same species.

[5] The following cladogram showing the relationships between the species is based on a molecular phylogenetic study of the Old World flycatchers published in 2023.