Crossword Genius

Bird of prey biting head off chicken (3)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

owl

'bird of prey' is the definition.
(I know that owl is a type of bird of prey)

'biting head off chicken' is the wordplay.
'biting head off' means to remove the first letter.
'chicken' becomes 'fowl' (chicken is a type of fowl).
'fowl' with its first letter removed is 'OWL'.

(Other definitions for owl that I've seen before include "Harry Potter's Hedwig, for instance" , "Bird of prey with front-facing eyes" , "paragon of wisdom?" , "Bird of the 18" , "Predator" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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