Crossword Genius

Bird hard to be caught by countryman (8)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

pheasant

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

'hard to be caught by countryman' is the wordplay.
'hard' becomes 'h'.
'to be caught by' is an insertion indicator.
'countryman' becomes 'peasant'.
'h' put into 'peasant' is 'PHEASANT'.

(Other definitions for pheasant that I've seen before include "Colourful game bird" , "Long-tailed gamebirds, male has bright feathers" , "Wildfowl" , "Ant heaps (anag.)" , "Cock" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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