The test results for this bird finally arrived, after a considerable delay, and confirmed that it had almost certainly died from ingesting rat poison. The so called "second generation rodenticide" Difenacoum was confirmed present in the liver at a level of 0.36 mg/kg. Although birds can sustain background levels of rodenticide with apparently no ill effect, this level of poisoning would be regarded as significant and probably contributed to the death of the bird. The secondary effects on wildlife of the widespread use of these second generation rodenticides is causing some concern at present, particularly with regard to scavengers such as the Red Kite. We are doing what we can to monitor the scale of the problem and are involved in discussions with many other organisations in an attempt to find a solution.