Cute rare flying animal (8)
I believe the answer is:
creature
'animal' is the definition.
(synonyms)
'cute rare flying' is the wordplay.
'flying' indicates an anagram (letters fly around into new positions).
'cute'+'rare'='cuterare'
'cuterare' is an anagram of 'CREATURE'.
(Other definitions for creature that I've seen before include "soul" , "Animal as distinct from human being" , "Living being" , "Animal or person" , "Life's little pleasures!" .)