Skirt gathered in by head member of clergy (7)
I believe the answer is:
primate
'head member of clergy' is the definition.
The definition and answer can be both animals as well as being singular nouns.
Perhaps there's a link between them I don't understand?
'skirt gathered in' is the wordplay.
'skirt' becomes 'rim' (I've seen this in other clues).
'gathered' becomes 'pate' (I can't justify this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'in' is an insertion indicator.
'rim' inserted inside 'pate' is 'PRIMATE'.
'by' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for primate that I've seen before include "Archbishop of York, for example" , "Leader" , "A permit for a cardinal" , "Highest-ranking bishop" , "Man (or monkey)" .)