First falcons born in Paris since 19th century

(AFP) –

PARIS — The first peregrine falcons to be born in Paris since the end of the 19th century have hatched at the top of a giant heating tower close to the Eiffel Tower, it was announced on Tuesday.

The news has been greeted with delight by conservationists battling to build up stocks of a species that came close to extinction in France.

"It sends an important signal: when we apply ourselves, nature can reclaim its place in the city," Antoine Cadi of France's League for the Protection of Birds (LPO) told AFP.

The three chicks, known as eyases, were born in an artificial nest placed at the top of the 130-metre tower, two of them on April 25 and their sibling a couple of days later.

Since the births, the male of the adult pair has been busy hunting for his new family, taking out unsuspecting pigeons in full flight at speeds of more than 300 kilometres an hour (up to 200 miles an hour).

"They are the cheetahs of the skies," said Cadi.

The adult pair was first spotted in the...read more HERE.

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