BBC News
Published
image captionThe poisoning involved a red kite
A bird of prey found dead in the Highlands was poisoned with a banned pesticide, police have said.
The red kite was found in the Ruthven area of the Monadhliath mountains, south of Inverness, in October.
Newly-released results from analysis show it had traces of an illegal pesticide in its body.
Police and RSPB Scotland carried out a search on Tuesday around the area where the bird was found. No other poisoned animals were detected.
Highlands and Islands wildlife crime liaison officer Daniel Sutherland said: "This incident is sadly another example of where a bird of prey has been killed through ingestion of an illegally-held poison.