Sprinkle black bird in parched area (4,4)
I believe the answer is:
dust bowl
'parched area' is the definition.
(area of the US hit by dust storms in the 1930s)
'sprinkle black bird' is the wordplay.
'sprinkle' becomes 'dust' (synonyms).
'black' becomes 'b' (as in pencil classifications).
'bird' becomes 'owl' (owl is a kind of bird).
'dust'+'b'+'owl'='DUST-BOWL'
'in' is the link.
(Other definitions for dust bowl that I've seen before include "Result of drought, bad farming" , "Place that's dry" , "Drought-stricken prairies in the US that suffered storms of fine powder in the 1930s" , "Drought area in the US" .)