A bird caught by sweet European, showing talent (8)
I believe the answer is:
aptitude
'talent' is the definition.
(I've seen this in another clue)
'a bird caught by sweet european' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'a' is within the answer.
'bird' could be 'tit' (tit is a kind of bird) and 'tit' is found within the answer.
'sweet' could be 'pud' (pud is a kind of sweet) and 'pud' is found within the remaining letters.
'european' could be 'e' (abbreviation e.g. EU) and 'e' is found within the answer.
No letters remain.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
'showing' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for aptitude that I've seen before include "Flair" , "Natural ability or skill" , "Inherent ability, natural talent" , "Natural gift" , "capacity" .)