Crossword Genius

Seabird's bow and nervous response upset other birds (6,4)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

arctic skua

'seabird's' is the definition.
(arctic skua is a kind of seabird)

'bow and nervous response upset other birds' is the wordplay.
'bow' becomes 'arc' (both can mean a curve).
'and' says to put letters next to each other.
'nervous response' becomes 'tic' (a nervous tic).
'upset' says the letters should be written backwards.
'other birds' becomes 'auks' (auk is a kind of bird. I am not sure about the 'other' bit.).
'auks' reversed gives 'skua'.
'arc'+'tic'+'skua'='ARCTIC SKUA'

I've seen this clue in The Guardian.
Want a hint initially instead of a full solution? Install my app