Bird and a fragrant herb, we're told (4)
I believe the answer is:
time
'bird' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'a fragrant herb we're told' is the wordplay.
'a fragrant herb' becomes 'thyme' (I've seen this before).
'we're told' shows a homophone (sound like).
'thyme' sounds like 'TIME'.
'and' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for time that I've seen before include "Era" , "See 12" , "The fourth dimension?" , "See 15" , "Rhythm" .)