It flies the short distance to Flamborough Head (5)
I believe the answer is:
finch
'it flies' is the definition.
The definition suggests a singular noun which matches the answer.
'short distance to flamborough head' is the wordplay.
'short distance' becomes 'inch' (inch is a unit of length).
'to' says to put letters next to each other (I've seen this in other clues).
'head' suggests taking the first letters.
The first letter of 'flamborough' is 'f'.
'inch' after 'f' is 'FINCH'.
'the' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for finch that I've seen before include "Singer" , "Peter - - , film actor; bird" , "Bird such as canary" , "Songbird such as a canary" , "Seed-eating songbird" .)