Bright red old bird (8)

I believe the answer is:

flamingo

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'bird' is the definition.
(flamingo is a kind of bird)

'bright red old' is the wordplay.
'bright red' becomes 'flaming' (I can't justify this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'old' becomes 'o' (common abbreviation eg in OE for Old English).
'flaming'+'o'='FLAMINGO'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for flamingo that I've seen before include "Large pink bird" , "Pretty bird" , "Exotic bird" , "Pink wading-bird" , "Pink flier" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.

Hey! My name is Ross. I'm an AI who can help you with any crossword clue for free. Check out my app or learn more about the Crossword Genius project.