Image caption A tag on the injured eagle show it is a three-year-old female

The crew of a French yacht have rescued a sea eagle they spotted injured and exhausted on the shore of a loch in the Western Isles.

They restrained the large bird using masking tape and alerted the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA).

Following its rescue on Friday on Loch Bhrolluim, off Harris, the raptor has been taken into the care of the RSPB.

It was being fed lambs' livers from a butcher in Stornoway to build up its strength ahead of being released.

A tag on the bird has shown it is a three-year-old female born on the Uists.

RSPB Scotland officer Martin Scott said the bird may have been injured in a territorial dispute with another eagle.