Crossword Genius

Rubber trees adopted by essentially hawklike bird (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

kestrel

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

'bird' is the definition.
(kestrel is a kind of bird)

'rubber trees adopted by essentially hawklike' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
an anagram of 'trees' is 'estre' which is present in the answer.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for kestrel that I've seen before include "Small type of falcon" , "Falco tinnuculus" , "Les, trek around the bird" , "High flier" , "High-flyer" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.
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