 The "Pyrocephalus" are most closely related to the "Sayornis" in terms of morphology, but genetic analysis shows that they may be more closely related to the "Fluvicola".The vermilion flycatcher likely evolved around 1.15–million years ago (mya), with the species on the Galápagos Islands having split off around 0.82–mya.The South American species/subspecies diverged about 0.56–mya.