Bird English composer recalled (5)
I believe the answer is:
grebe
'bird' is the definition.
(grebe is a kind of bird)
'english composer recalled' is the wordplay.
'english' becomes 'e' (abbreviation).
'composer' becomes 'berg' (20th Century Austrian composer).
'recalled' is a reversal indicator.
'e'+'berg'='eberg'
'eberg' in reverse letter order is 'GREBE'.
(Other definitions for grebe that I've seen before include "Freshwater diving bird" , "Diver" , "Small bird that builds floating nests" , "I'll dive in" , "Diving waterbird" .)