Police suspect the falcons were poisoned

The birds were discovered by a member of the public between Findochty and Portknockie in Moray.

They were lying at the bottom of cliffs, near an area known locally as the Three Moothed Cave.

A Grampian Police spokesman said: "The birds have been seized and are to be examined to ascertain the cause of death.

"The circumstances suggest that they have been poisoned."

Someone may well have dumped them there because there is no nest directly where they were found Mike Middlehurst, Grampian Police

The peregrines were found on 29 May and the probe was launched after the force's wildlife liaison officer examined the falcons.

The dead birds will be sent to the Scottish Agricultural Science Agency in Edinburgh for examination.

A police spokesman said there were no external signs of injury which suggested the peregrines were poisoned.

Constable Mike Middlehurst, the Moray wildlife liaison officer, said the two male adult falcons were found lying beside each other at the bottom of cliffs.

"It is unusual for two male birds to be found together," he said.

"Someone may well have dumped them there because there is no nest directly where they were found."

Last year experts warned that poor breeding in 2002 had proved a definite setback for a species which has been persecuted for several decades.

The population research was organised by the British Trust for Ornithology and supported by Scottish Raptor Study Groups and Scottish Natural Heritage.

A national survey of peregrines in Scotland carried out in 1991 recorded 625 breeding pairs.