Note university students’ bird (4)
I believe the answer is:
gull
'bird' is the definition.
(gull is a kind of bird)
'note university students'' is the wordplay.
'note' becomes 'g' (musical note).
'university' becomes 'U' (abbreviation as in UMass).
'students'' becomes 'LL' (an abbreviation for learner driver written twice).
'g'+'u'+'ll'='GULL'
(Other definitions for gull that I've seen before include "Fool - bird" , "Cheat, hoax" , "Seabird with webbed feet" , "Aquatic bird with short legs" , "A bird; to deceive" .)