Crossword Genius

Bird house originally opened by American writer (6)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

hoopoe

'bird' is the definition.
(I know that hoopoe is a type of coraciiform bird)

'house originally opened by american writer' is the wordplay.
'house' becomes 'ho' (abbreviation for house).
'originally' indicates taking the first letters.
'by' means one lot of letters go next to another.
'american writer' becomes 'poe' (Edgar Allan Poe).
The initial letter of 'opened' is 'o'.
'ho'+'o'+'poe'='HOOPOE'

(Other definitions for hoopoe that I've seen before include "Flier" , "Bird with curved bill" , "Pink Eurasian bird with black and white wings and tail" , "bird required" , "occasional visitor here" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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