Bird I have taken to river for traveller (8)
I believe the answer is:
gulliver
'for traveller' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'bird i have taken to river' is the wordplay.
'bird' becomes 'gull' (gull is a kind of bird).
'i have' becomes 'I've' (contraction of 'I have').
'taken to' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'river' becomes 'r' (abbreviation for river).
'gull'+'ive'+'r'='GULLIVER'
(Other definitions for gulliver that I've seen before include "Swift man" , "Dean Swift's fictional traveller" , "Dean Swift's travelling man" , "Lilliput visitor" .)