Head north after a bird (5)
I believe the answer is:
crown
'head' is the definition.
(crowning is a kind of heading)
'north after a bird' is the wordplay.
'north' becomes 'N' (abbreviation).
'after' says to put letters next to each other.
'a bird' becomes 'crow' (crow is a kind of bird).
'n' after 'crow' is 'CROWN'.
(Other definitions for crown that I've seen before include "The sovereign" , "peak" , "Monarch's headgear" , "Headdress, coin" , "Royal headdress" .)