Black cuckoo breeding is invigorating (9)
I believe the answer is:
animating
'is invigorating' is the definition.
(similar in meaning)
'black cuckoo breeding' is the wordplay.
'black cuckoo' becomes 'ani' (I've seen this before).
'breeding' becomes 'mating' (mating is a kind of breeding).
'ani'+'mating'='ANIMATING'
(Other definitions for animating that I've seen before include "Bringing to life" , "Giving life to" .)