Crossword Genius

Bird dog was so excited (8)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

curassow

'bird' is the definition.
(curassow is a kind of bird)

'dog was so excited' is the wordplay.
'dog' becomes 'cur' (cur is a kind of dog).
'excited' is an anagram indicator.
'was'+'so'='wasso'
'wasso' anagrammed gives 'assow'.
'cur'+'assow'='CURASSOW'

(Another definition for curassow that I've seen is " Game bird".)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.
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