Legendary New York City red-tailed hawk Pale Male dead at 33

Pale Male, the famous Manhattan red-tailed hawk who called the concrete jungle home for more than three decades, died late Tuesday.

The hawk — who inspired countless news articles, at least three books, a documentary film and a PBS television special — was believed to be about 33 years old, wildlife rehabilitator Bobby Horvath posted on Facebook.

Pale Male was found to be sick and grounded in Central Park by Horvath who took him to vet for tests and fed him a small meal — but the legendary carnivore couldn’t be saved.

“We hoped for any improvement, but sadly it was not meant to be,” Horvath said.

He said that Pale Male suffered “severe renal failure likely due to age,” according to the blood work.

His outsized life was closely watched by birders, tourists and New Yorkers alike starting on the day he was first spotted as a juvenile in 1991 in Central Park.

Pale Male got his moniker for his light-colored plumage from Wall Street Journal columnist and birder Marie Winn, who later wrote a book about him called “Red-Tails in Love” in 1999. He was one of the only red-tailed hawks to make the Big Apple his permanent home at the time.

“Pale Male was the inspiration for thousands not only in New York City but worldwide to begin birding or photography,” Horvath said in a post. “Some were just amateur others became professional photographers. Most were just local residents or tourists who just wanted an opportunity to get a glimpse of this famous hawk.”

New York City birders following Winn’s coverage crowded Central Park hoping to get a glance at the local celebrity — but Pale Male’s fame extended past the birding community when he and his mate were evicted from their Fifth Avenue spot in 2004.

The hawk had built a nest on a 12th-floor ledge of a swanky Fifth Avenue apartment building and the co-op board had removed the nest after holding a vote. However, outrage swelled among New Yorkers — including actor Mary Tyler Moore who lived in the building — and the board quickly reversed its decision, adding a new metal “cradle” on the ledge to hold a nest.

Pale Male returned and rebuilt his nest with his partner Lola and for many years later came back each spring often with new gal pals to mate and have offspring.

He fathered at least 23 chicks by 2010 — though bird experts said nearly all hawks living in the city at the time were connected to his family tree.

The hawk became a beloved city icon long before the pizza rat or the “hot” Mandarin duck.

“He was not only the world’s most famous red-tailed hawk, but he was probably the world’s most famous bird, one that people knew by name,” said David Barrett who runs multiple birding Twitter accounts.

He added that Pale Male’s acclaim “shows that even in an intensely urban place like Manhattan, there are many people who have a fondness for wildlife and feel a connection to it.”

The famous hawk, however, was never banded and some believe it’s unusual that one of the most popular hawks also happened to be one of the longest-living hawks by an extra 10 years over the average age of mortality.

“It seems unlikely to me that the most famous red-tailed hawk of all time would also be the longest lived,” freelance naturalist Gabriel Willow told the New York Times.

Another birder told the newspaper he thinks Pale Male has been dead “probably for a decade” and it was one of his many offspring who was found ill in Central Park.

However, Horvath — who had the famous bird’s corpse in his freezer Wednesday — said he’s confident the hawk he tried to rescue was the one he has been following for 20 years and Jessica Wilson, the executive director of New York City Audubon, agreed.

“Even though it’s unusual — it’s a long life — there’s enough evidence collected, that experts think, suspect, that it’s been him this whole time,” she told the Times.

Willow said Pale Male’s legacy lives on either way.

“I think what’s meaningful about Pale Male is the way he captured the public imagination,” he told the outlet. “And as such, it doesn’t matter if it was Pale Male or not at the end of the day.”

With Post wires