Bird heard on the bend (4)
I believe the answer is:
tern
'bird' is the definition.
(tern is a kind of bird)
'heard on the bend' is the wordplay.
I cannot really understand how this works, but
'the' could be 't' (the is pronounced as a 't' sound in some dialects) and 't' is found in the answer.
The remaining letters 'ern' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't understand.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for tern that I've seen before include "Rent out the bird" , "Seagull" , "Small seabird with forked tail" , "Sea bird, a small gull" , "Small slender gull" .)