Male bird and plant (8)
I believe the answer is:
mandrake
'plant' is the definition.
(mandrake is a kind of plant)
'male bird' is the wordplay.
'male' becomes 'man' (man is a kind of male).
'bird' becomes 'drake' (drake is a kind of bird).
'man'+'drake'='MANDRAKE'
'and' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for mandrake that I've seen before include "Root used in medicine" , "Poisonous plant with large forked root" , "Eurasian plant with purplish flowers" , "Plant with forked root used in magic" , "Plant once believed to shriek when pulled up" .)