Two peregrine falcon chicks were briefly pulled from the nesting ledge at the 40th floor of the University of Pittsburgh's Cathedral of Learning in Oakland, Friday.
Staff from the state Game Commission retrieved the birds, to the consternation of their mother, and they were given a veterinary examination by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Permanent leg bands were applied to accommodate future research.
Just weeks old, the fuzzy nestlings have already had a challenging life. In a bizarre act that has yet to be clearly explained by ornithologists, the birds' two siblings -- the first to hatch from this clutch -- were killed and eaten by their mother while bird lovers watched aghast on live-streaming nest-cam operated by the National Aviary, located on the city's North Side.
The banding and exam occurred without incident one day before World Migratory Bird Day, celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918, one of the first and most important international conservation treaties.
First Published: May 11, 2018, 6:09 p.m.
