Flier from prior age, nicer somehow (7,6)
I believe the answer is:
carrier pigeon
'flier' is the definition.
(something which flies)
'prior age nicer somehow' is the wordplay.
'somehow' is an anagram indicator.
'prior'+'age'+'nicer'='prioragenicer'
'prioragenicer' with letters rearranged gives 'CARRIER-PIGEON'.
'from' is the link.
(Other definitions for carrier pigeon that I've seen before include "Avian messenger" , "Bird used for communication" , "Aerial messenger" , "Bird with message" , "Bird taking messages" .)