Display plumage in face-off (8)
I believe the answer is:
showdown
'face-off' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'display plumage' is the wordplay.
'display' becomes 'show' (synonyms).
'plumage' becomes 'down' (I am not sure about this - if you are sure you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'show'+'down'='SHOWDOWN'
'in' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for showdown that I've seen before include "Final confrontation as in western film" , "Decisive confrontation" , "Final test, often found in westerns" , "Face-off" , "Dramatic conclusion" .)