Bird in bamboo around river (5)
I believe the answer is:
crane
'bird' is the definition.
(crane is a kind of bird)
'bamboo around river' is the wordplay.
'bamboo' becomes 'cane' (cane-producing plant).
'around' means one lot of letters goes inside another.
'river' becomes 'r' (abbreviation for river).
'cane' placed around 'r' is 'CRANE'.
'in' is the link.
(Other definitions for crane that I've seen before include "Lifting structure" , "Stretch to see" , "American writer" , "Stretch out (one's neck)" , "Bird; mechanical lift" .)