Design to gently stroke bird (7)
I believe the answer is:
pattern
'design' is the definition.
(synonyms)
'gently stroke bird' is the wordplay.
'gently stroke' becomes 'pat' (I have seen 'Gentle stroke ' mean 'pat' so perhaps 'stroke' could also mean 'pat'. I am not sure about the 'gently' bit.).
'bird' becomes 'tern' (tern is a kind of bird).
'pat'+'tern'='PATTERN'
'to' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for pattern that I've seen before include "Sewing plan" , "Design for copying" , "Repeated decorative design" , "Stencil" , "trend" .)