Cryptic crossword clue
Bird with timorous amateur at sea in France 12

The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 12 letter word YELLOWHAMMER

I've seen this crossword clue in Financial Times
Y
E
L
L
O
W
H
A
M
M
E
R

Buddy explains!

The straight part
We know that "Bird" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case bird = yellowhammer.
The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.
This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.

What does YELLOWHAMMER mean?

YELLOWHAMMER noun
  1. A passerine bird, Emberiza citrinella, of western Eurasia, which is mainly yellow in colour.
  2. The northern flicker, Colaptes auratus.
  3. A native or resident of the American state of Alabama.

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