Yellow around black bird (6)
I believe the answer is:
craven
'yellow' is the definition.
(both can mean cowardly)
'around black bird' is the wordplay.
'around' becomes 'c' (abbreviation for 'circa').
'black bird' becomes 'raven' (I've seen this before).
'c'+'raven'='CRAVEN'
(Other definitions for craven that I've seen before include "Chicken-hearted" , "Mean-spirited" , "Lacking courage, cowardly" , "Cowardly, spineless" , "Contemptibly cowardly" .)