The southern Cairngorms have been identified as a bird crime blackspot by the RSPB.

The wildlife charity received 196 reports about birds of prey being shot, trapped or destroyed across the UK in 2015.

It was able to confirm 60 of those incidents, as well as a further 36 offences including poisoning.

Almost a third (28) of the 96 confirmed offences happened in Scotland, according to the RSPB's Birdcrime 2015 report.

The southern Cairngorms was singled out as the only part of the UK where four or more incidents occurred within a ten square kilometre area.

The RSPB said: "The government needs to do far more to tackle raptor persecution.

"We have recommended that the government takes steps to introduce new statutory controls with well-supported enforcement underpinned by effective deterrent penalties."

More than two thirds (120) of the 176 people convicted of offences against birds of prey between 1990 and 2015 were employed as gamekeepers, the RSPB reported.

It said a long-term review of bird crime "shows a clear link with game-rearing interests".

The UK Government was urged by the charity to review information held by Natural England on the disappearance of satellite-tagged birds dating back to 2007.

Five satellite-tagged birds of prey vanished in the Cairngorms last year.