Prepare to fire a further flier (8)

I believe the answer is:

cockatoo

'flier' is the definition.
(cockatoo is a kind of birdanimal)

'prepare to fire a further' is the wordplay.
'prepare to fire' becomes 'cock' (as in cocking a gun).
'further' becomes 'too' (I've seen this in another clue).
'cock'+'a'+'too'='COCKATOO'

(Other definitions for cockatoo that I've seen before include "Lightly coloured crested parrot" , "Bird, a type of parrot" , "Illegal Aussie look-out man" , "Parrot native to Australia and Indonesia" , "Australasian parrot" .)

I've seen this clue in the Evening Standard.

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