Crossword Genius

Bird returned weapon, hissing (9)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

sibilance

'hissing' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'bird returned weapon' is the wordplay.
'bird' becomes 'ibis' (ibis is a kind of bird).
'returned' is a reversal indicator.
'weapon' becomes 'lance' (lance is a kind of weapon).
'ibis' reversed gives 'sibi'.
'sibi'+'lance'='SIBILANCE'

I've seen this clue in the Sydney Morning Herald.
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