The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 8 letter word BITTERNS
I've seen this crossword clue in The Daily Telegraph
B
I
T
T
E
R
N
S
More clues leading to the result BITTERNS
Buddy explains!

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 BITTERNS mean?
BITTERNS noun- Several bird species in the Botaurinae subfamily of the heron family Ardeidae.