German university students get the bird (4)
I believe the answer is:
gull
'the bird' is the definition.
(gull is a kind of bird)
'german university students' is the wordplay.
'german' becomes 'g' (abbreviation).
'university' becomes 'U' (abbreviation for university).
'students' becomes 'LL' (an abbreviation for learner driver written twice).
'g'+'u'+'ll'='GULL'
'get' is the link.
(Other definitions for gull that I've seen before include "Seabird - fool" , "Seabird with webbed feet" , "Aquatic bird with short legs" , "Seabird with a raucous call" , "Take in" .)