Crossword Genius

Old bird love mother being around? (3)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

moa

'old bird' is the definition.
(extinct bird)

'love mother being around?' is the wordplay.
'love' becomes 'o' (love means zero in tennis).
'mother' becomes 'ma' (ma can mean mother).
'being around?' means one lot of letters goes inside another.
'o' put inside 'ma' is 'MOA'.

(Other definitions for moa that I've seen before include "Early bird" , "Gigantic extinct bird" , "Bird that died out" , "Extinct flightless bird of New Zealand" , "Extinct flightless NZ_bird" .)

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