noun
swift (bird of family Apodidae)
General term for swifts, a family of fast-flying birds. Often written in katakana.
アマツバメは飛ぶのがとても速い鳥です。
Swifts are birds that fly very fast.
アマツバメは夏鳥として日本に渡来します。
The fork-tailed swift comes to Japan as a summer bird.
Compound of 雨 (ama, 'rain') + つ (archaic possessive particle) + 羽 (hane, 'wing') or 燕 (tsubame, 'swallow'), but the exact derivation is uncertain. The kanji 雨燕 literally means 'rain swallow'.