Hunting hound slipping lead finds bird (5)
I believe the answer is:
eagle
'bird' is the definition.
(eagle is a type of bird)
'hunting hound slipping lead' is the wordplay.
'hunting hound' becomes 'beagle' (I've seen this before).
'slipping lead' means to remove the first letter (I've seen 'slips lead' mean this).
'beagle' with its initial letter taken away is 'EAGLE'.
'finds' is the link.
(Other definitions for eagle that I've seen before include "Hook-billed bird of prey -- old US $10 coin" , "Old comic" , "Symbolic American bird" , "experts are putting more than albatross?" , "The bald one is a US symbol" .)