Came close to bird behind daughter (8)
I believe the answer is:
emulated
'came close to' is the definition.
(to emulate is to copy or imitate)
'bird behind daughter' is the wordplay.
'bird' becomes 'emu' (emu is a kind of bird).
'behind' becomes 'late'.
'daughter' becomes 'd'.
'emu'+'late'+'d'='EMULATED'
(Other definitions for emulated that I've seen before include "Rivalled" , "Male duet strove to equal" , "Tried to equal or copy" , "Imitated" , "Tried hard to be as good as someone" .)