Rues exposing the winger (5)
I believe the answer is:
egret
'the winger' is the definition.
(egret is a kind of bird)
'rues exposing' is the wordplay.
'rues' becomes 'regrets' ('regret' can be a synonym of 'rue').
'exposing' indicates the central letters (I've seen 'exposed' mean this (outside letters removed)).
The middle letters of 'regrets' are 'EGRET'.
(Other definitions for egret that I've seen before include "Mainly white heron" , "Seabird" , "flier" , "Wader with white plumage" , "Heron-like wader" .)