What are the Wicked Witch's flying monkeys called?

The Wicked Witch’s flying monkeys are called Winged Monkeys.

Winged Monkeys first appeared in L. Frank Baum’s 1900 novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. They are described as intelligent jungle monkeys with feathered wings, capable of speaking English. In the book, the Wicked Witch of the West controls them through the Golden Cap, which allows its wearer to make three commands.

The 1939 film keeps the creatures but gives them a smaller role. They do not speak, and the movie does not explain the Golden Cap’s three-command rule in the same detail as the novel. Under the Witch’s orders, they capture Dorothy and Toto and tear apart the Scarecrow before the others rescue them.

“Flying monkeys” is the familiar popular expression, but “Winged Monkeys” is the creatures’ formal name in the Oz story. The phrase “flying monkeys” later became a metaphor for people who act on behalf of an abusive or manipulative person.