Fidi Falcon Cam Becomes Horror Film As Mother Seen Eating Small Bird

UPDATE, Wednesday Morning: A small bird was eaten Tuesday morning by a mother peregrine falcon in the nest atop 55 Water St., but it was not her own freshly hatched baby.

The "Falcon Cam" Wednesday morning shows a healthy chick and three eggs.

You can tune into the camera on top of the Financial District skyscraper to watch the remaining three eggs hatch.

FINANCIAL DISTRICT, NY — A G-rated moment of celebrated "Falcon Cam" cuteness turned into a gory horror movie Tuesday morning as New Yorkers watched a peregrine falcon feast on a small bird.

The scene began atop 55 Water St. when a small face peeked out from underneath its mother's breast about 9:25 a.m., video taken from the Lower Manhattan skyscraper shows.

The falcon tucked the baby bird back underneath her breast.

But minutes later, viewers of the camera's feed saw the adult bird with the carcass of a chick.

It was originally unknown if the dead bird was her own or if the adult had brought its offspring a meal. Bird fans watching the feed later in the day saw a live chick, but were unable to see how many unhatched eggs were nestled underneath the parent bird.

It was confirmed Wednesday morning, though, that the falcon's chick is still alive, along with three unhatched eggs.

A representative from Manhattan Bird Alert — Twitter's popular "celebrity bird" watcher — suggested that if it was the mother who ate the chick, she could have been "culling," or selectively slaughtering her weakest offspring to cut down on the number of beaks to feed.

"Four baby falcons might be a lot to raise," the avian fan told Patch.

The nest has held four eggs since late last month. The feed later in the day clearly showed a chick and two eggs, but the third wasn't visible.

Another celebrity peregrine falcon named Hope — whose nest atop the University of Pittsburgh's Cathedral of Learning also has its own live feed — has also killed some of her chicks immediately after they hatched - but it's unusual for peregrine falcons, Art McMorris, a peregrine falcon coordinator for the Pennsylvania Game Commission told Trib Live in 2019.

“It’s certainly not normal for an adult to kill a nestling,” McMorris reportedly said. “My guess is there was something abnormal about the chick and the female detected it.”

Peregrine falcons have lived at their digs at 55 Water St. since the first generation Jack and Diane set up their nest in 1999.

The falcons have gained a following from online bird-watchers from a live webcam nested on the 14th floor of the 54-story tower.

A representative from 55 Water St. did not immediately respond to Patch.