Twig, for example, brought back by bird (3,2)
I believe the answer is:
get it
'twig' is the definition.
(synonyms)
'example brought back by bird' is the wordplay.
'example' becomes 'eg' (short for 'exempli gratia', 'for example' in Latin).
'brought back' says the letters should be written backwards.
'by' means one lot of letters go next to another.
'bird' becomes 'tit' (tit is a kind of bird).
'eg' reversed gives 'ge'.
'ge'+'tit'='GET IT?'
'for' is the link.
(Other definitions for get it that I've seen before include "twig?" , "Be punished" , "Understand" , "See the point" .)