It has vivid plumage and a masterly cry (5)
I believe the answer is:
macaw
'it has vivid plumage' is the definition.
The definition suggests a singular noun which matches the answer.
'a masterly cry' is the wordplay.
'a masterly' becomes 'ma' (I can't justify this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'cry' becomes 'caw' (caw is a kind of cry).
'ma'+'caw'='MACAW'
'and' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for macaw that I've seen before include "Avian chatterbox" , "Largest parrot" , "Long-tailed American parrot" , "Colourful creature" , "Large bright parrot" .)