Model to show affection to bird (7)
I believe the answer is:
pattern
'model' is the definition.
(synonyms)
'affection to bird' is the wordplay.
'affection' becomes 'pat' (I am not sure about this - if you are sure you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'to bird' becomes 'tern' (tern is a kind of bird).
'pat'+'tern'='PATTERN'
'to show' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for pattern that I've seen before include "style" , "Shape or design" , "trend" , "Stencil" , "Sewing plan" .)