Perthshire gamekeepers have joined a major police operation to find a missing sea eagle.
The search got under way in the Dunkeld area after the bird’s satellite tag stopped working in a glen there.
Estate owners offered to help with ground searches across snowy moorlands and woods.
Thirteen gamekeepers from throughout the area have teamed up with Police Scotland and the Scottish RSPB.
Two sea eagles have been spotted in the glen, several kilometres west of Dunkeld, since the tag stopped functioning.
The Scottish Gamekeepers Association said two people were seen searching the area before Tuesday and may have information about what happened to the bird.
Association chairman Alex Hogg said: “When learning about the bird, the gamekeepers were keen to assist the police and immediately offered their help in the searches.
“There has been a lot of snow drifts in the area recently, which has obviously made searching problematic, logistically.”
He said: “The gamekeepers want the bird found, if it has perished. They are first to be accused when any bird of prey goes missing – or when a tag stops – so these guys want to find the bird and assist the police in every way they can.
“They have also pledged to search other areas in the vicinity in the coming days.”
Mr Hogg said: “With some tags, there can be hours between one signal and the next, so the location of the last bleep is only an indication of where the bird was.
“Eagles are capable of covering considerable distances in a short space of time.”
Sea eagles, reintroduced to Scotland, rely on carrion for food, especially in winter.
