Was an ape behind cedar, essentially stalking bird (8)
I believe the answer is:
emulated
'was an ape' is the definition.
I can't judge whether this definition defines the answer.
'behind cedar essentially stalking bird' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'behind' could be 'late' (as in behind schedule) and 'late' is found within the answer.
'bird' could be 'emu' (emu is a type of bird) and 'emu' is found in the answer.
A single letter 'd' remains which might be clued in a way I don't understand.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for emulated that I've seen before include "Tried hard to be as good as someone" , "Imitated" , "Male duet strove to equal" , "Rivalled" , "Tried to equal or copy" .)