Crossword Genius

African animal, howler gobbling bird with wings pulled off (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

giraffe

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'bird with wings pulled off' is the definition.
I can't tell whether this defines the answer.

'african animal howler gobbling' is the wordplay.
'african animal' becomes 'ir' (I can't explain this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'howler' becomes 'gaffe' (I've seen this in another clue).
'gobbling' is an insertion indicator.
'ir' inserted within 'gaffe' is 'GIRAFFE'.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for giraffe that I've seen before include "Tallest land animal" , "African native ruminating" , "Large African mammal" , "Long-necked animal" , "The largest ruminant" .)

I've seen this clue in The Guardian.
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