Cryptic crossword clue
Southern Europeans put off trapping a bird, perhaps 9

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

I've seen this crossword clue in The Times
S
E
E
D
E
A
T
E
R

Buddy explains!

The straight part
We know that "bird, perhaps" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case bird, perhaps = seedeater.
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 SEEDEATER mean?

SEEDEATER noun
  1. An individual or species which eats seeds.
  2. A bird species which feeds mainly on seeds.
  3. Any bird in the genus Sporophila of the tanager family, Thraupidae
  4. Any bird in the genus Amaurospiza, now classified in the family Cardinalidae

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