Crossword Genius

Mostly wheezy Southern seabirds (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

puffins

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'seabirds' is the definition.
(I know this)

'mostly wheezy southern' is the wordplay.
I cannot really understand how this works, but
'southern' could be 's' (abbreviation) and 's' is present in the answer.
The remaining letters 'puffin' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't see.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for puffins that I've seen before include "Black and white diving birds" , "Seabirds with brightly-coloured bills" , "Bright-billed auks" .)

I've seen this clue in The Everyman puzzle in The Observer.
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