Crossword Genius

Bird with a nest originally accommodating cuckoo there (5,3)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

water hen

'bird' is the definition.
(water hen is a kind of bird)

'with a nest originally accommodating cuckoo there' is the wordplay.
'with' becomes 'w' (abbreviation**).
'originally' indicates taking the first letters.
'accommodating' is an insertion indicator.
'cuckoo' is an anagram indicator (I've seen this in other clues).
The first letter of 'nest' is 'n'.
'a'+'n'='an'
'there' is an anagram of 'terhe'.
'an' enclosing 'terhe' is 'aterhen'.
'w'+'aterhen'='WATER-HEN'

(Other definitions for water hen that I've seen before include "Bird of rail genus" , "White-breasted aquatic bird" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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