wingbeat

wing +‎ beat

wingbeat (plural wingbeats)

1. A single stroke made in flight by the wings of an animal that flies by beating its wings.
   • 1961, Edmund C. Jaeger, Desert Wildlife, Stanford University Press, page 169:

     The birds spotted me the moment I approached. A strong southwest gale was blowing. At times, one or both of them would swing almost directly above me and without a single wingbeat remain almost motionless, in defiance of the wind, for moments at a time.

   • 2018, Robert Dudley, The Biomechanics of Insect Flight: Form, Function, Evolution, Princeton University Press, page 87:

     In addition to acoustic measurement, other methods can be used to determine wingbeat frequency.