Caught bird by head, being a chicken? (10)

I believe the answer is:

cravenness

'being a chicken?' is the definition.

'caught bird by head' is the wordplay.
'caught' becomes 'c' (cricket abbreviation).
'bird by' becomes 'raven' (raven is a kind of bird. I am not sure about the 'by' bit.**).
'head' becomes 'ness' (ness is a headland).
'c'+'raven'+'ness'='CRAVENNESS'

I've seen this clue in The Times.

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