Bird left Noah's vessel (4)

I believe the answer is:

lark

'bird' is the definition.
(I know that lark is a type of American oriole)

'left noah's vessel' is the wordplay.
'left' becomes 'l' (common abbreviation).
'noah's vessel' becomes 'ark' (I've seen this before).
'l'+'ark'='LARK'

(Other definitions for lark that I've seen before include "Early bird with morning song" , "Jape; bird" , "Harmless adventure" , "Early riser" , "flier" .)

I've seen this clue in The Guardian.

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