Cor blimey — large ducks and birds of prey (8)

I believe the answer is:

goshawks

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'cor blimey large' is the definition.
I can't judge whether this definition defines the answer.

'ducks and birds of prey' is the wordplay.
'ducks' becomes 'gos' (I am not sure about this - if you are sure you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'and' says to put letters next to each other.
'birds of prey' becomes 'hawks' (I've seen this before).
'gos'+'hawks'='GOSHAWKS'

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I've seen this clue in The Times.

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