Artist catches male bird (4)
I believe the answer is:
rhea
'bird' is the definition.
(rhea is a kind of bird)
'artist catches male' is the wordplay.
'artist' becomes 'ra' (Royal Academician, member of Royal Academy of Arts).
'catches' is an insertion indicator.
'male' becomes 'he'.
'ra' going around 'he' is 'RHEA'.
(Other definitions for rhea that I've seen before include "Greek goddess of fertility - running bird" , "Large flightless bird" , "Grounded bird" , "It can't fly" , "nonflyer" .)