Sort of bird half-dead in conflict (5)
I believe the answer is:
wader
'sort of bird' is the definition.
(I know that wader is a type of aquatic bird)
'half-dead in conflict' is the wordplay.
'half' means to take half the letters.
'in' means one lot of letters goes inside another.
'conflict' becomes 'war' (war is a kind of conflict).
'dead' cut in half is 'de'.
'de' inserted into 'war' is 'WADER'.
(Other definitions for wader that I've seen before include "Long waterproof boot" , "Heron, say" , "crane, perhaps" , "Eg, sandpiper or plover" , "Type of long-legged bird" .)