Ostrich to nurture, we hear (4)
I believe the answer is:
rhea
'ostrich' is the definition.
The definition and answer can be both animals as well as being singular nouns.
Maybe you can see an association between them that I can't see?
'nurture we hear' is the wordplay.
'nurture' becomes 'rear' (synonyms).
'we hear' indicates a 'sounds like' (homophone) clue.
'rear' is a homophone of 'RHEA'.
'to' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for rhea that I've seen before include "Ostrich-like bird of South America" , "Moon" , "It can't fly" , "New World ostrich" , "Fertility goddess in ancient Greek mythology" .)