Crossword Genius

Outwardly female bird (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

heron

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

'outwardly female bird' is the definition.
'heron' can be an answer for 'bird' (heron is a kind of bird). I'm not certain of the 'outwardly female' bit.

'outwardly female bird' is the wordplay.
'outwardly' is an insertion indicator (some letters go on the outside).
'female' becomes 'hen' (female chicken).
'bird' becomes 'ro' (I can't justify this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'hen' going around 'ro' is 'HERON'.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for heron that I've seen before include "Grey or white long-legged wading bird" , "Graceful grey bird with long neck" , "Rhone (anag) - bird" , "Tall wading bird" , "flier" .)

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