Italian waterfowl — small number inside (7)
I believe the answer is:
genoese
'italian' is the definition.
(I know that Genoese is a type of italian)
'waterfowl small number inside' is the wordplay.
'waterfowl' becomes 'geese' (I've seen this in another clue).
'small number' becomes 'no' (abbreviation for 'number').
'inside' is an insertion indicator.
'geese' placed around 'no' is 'GENOESE'.
(Other definitions for genoese that I've seen before include "Italian port's" , "Coming from the birthplace of Christopher Columbus" , "From an Italian port" , "Columbus, for one" , "people like Columbus" .)