The silky-flycatchers are a small family, Ptiliogonatidae, of passerine birds. The family contains only four species in three genera. They were formerly included in the family Bombycillidae with waxwings, and are also related to the hypocolius in the family Hypocoliidae, the palmchat in the family Dulidae, the hylocitrea in the family Hylocitreidae, and the now-extinct Hawaiian family Mohoidae. The family is named from their silky plumage and their aerial flycatching techniques, although they are only distantly related to the Old World flycatchers (Muscicapidae) and the tyrant flycatchers (Tyrannidae).
They occur mainly in Central America from Panama to Mexico, with one species, the phainopepla, extending northwards into the southwestern US. Most do not engage in long-distance migration (instead wandering widely in search of fruit), but the phainopepla is migratory over the northern part of its range.