It breeds in montane forests of the southeastern corner of Europe (Balkan Peninsula) to Northwest Iran.

It mainly takes insects in flight, rarely hunting caterpillars amongst the tree foliage like pied flycatcher.

A distinction is that semicollared may show a white second wing bar, but many individuals are not separable in the field.

Semicollared flycatchers are birds of belts of deciduous woodlands, especially oak and hornbeam, in mountainous areas.

The song is again intermediate between collared and pied flycatchers, with slow strained whistles, but some rhythmic elements.