Crossword Genius

Turkey takes forever, being a small bird (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

tanager

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

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

'turkey takes forever being a small' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'a' could be 'an' and 'an' is located in the answer.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for tanager that I've seen before include "American songbird" , "South American singer" , "Songbird of the bunting family" , "A bird" .)

I've seen this clue in The Daily Express.
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