The bird makes mother cry (5)
I believe the answer is:
macaw
'the bird' is the definition.
(macaw is a kind of bird)
'mother cry' is the wordplay.
'mother' becomes 'ma' (ma can mean mother).
'cry' becomes 'caw' (caw is a kind of cry).
'ma'+'caw'='MACAW'
'makes' is the link.
(Other definitions for macaw that I've seen before include "Tropical parrot" , "Tropical bird" , "Type of parrot" , "Long-tailed American parrot" , "Large bright parrot" .)