Rare bird eggs seized by police in swoop

Osprey eggs believed to have been taken from a nest in Scotland have been seized by police in a nationwide operation.

Osprey eggs believed to have been taken from a nest in Scotland have been seized by police in a nationwide operation.

The clutch of eggs was recovered from an address in Willenhall, Coventry, along with a number of dead birds, both stuffed and frozen. Those included rare breeding birds such as the chough and stone curlew, Tayside Police said.

The eggs were believed to have been taken from a Perthshire nest in 2000. Police said a 41-year-old man was helping officers with their inquiries.

The search, co-ordinated by Tayside Police, was part of an investigation of the trade in rare eggs called Operation Easter.

In Scotland, eggs of rare birds such as the white-tailed sea eagle, golden eagle, chough, osprey and Slavonian grebe are prized by collectors, most of whom come from south of the border.

Guy Shorrock of the RSPB, who assisted with the investigation, said: "We are concerned about the finding of eggs and corpses of such rare birds. We will be assisting the police to try to find out if any of the dead birds were illegally taken."