Cryptic crossword clue
Sailor hangs around for birds 9

The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 9 letter word STARLINGS

I've seen this crossword clue in The Daily Telegraph
S
T
A
R
L
I
N
G
S

Buddy explains!

The straight part
We know that "birds" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case birds = starlings.
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 STARLINGS mean?

STARLINGS noun
  1. A family, Sturnidae, of passerine birds.
  2. A structure of pilings that protects the piers of a bridge.
  3. A California fish, the rock trout, Hexagrammos, especially, Hexagrammos decagrammus, the boregat or bodieron.

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