The European pied flycatcher is a burrow-nester that competes with great tits and blue tits for birdhouses. If there are free birdhouses on the yard, no problems will arise, but if all the nests are occupied by tits who have spent the winter there, a heated fight might begin.

Unlike the other tits, the European pied flycatcher does not use moss as a nest material. The material used is mostly dry hay, and the nest interior is of dun hue.

A male flycatcher is a small black-and-white insectivore. The sections that are black on the males are sand-brown on the females.

The European pied flycatcher hunts in a way typical to flycatchers. The bird sits still on a branch and dashes after the flying insects from it.

The European pied flycatcher migrates to Finland from the tropical Africa, where it winters.