New York, New York - An autopsy determined that the Big Apple's dear Eurasian eagle owl, Falco, was a very sick bird when he tragically flew into a building. He had a severe viral infection and four different pesticides in his system.

Falco, New York's beloved owl, who became a household name after he escaped the Central Park Zoo following a burglary in 2023, was very sick when he flew into a building on the Upper West Side of Manhattan and ultimately plummeted to his death.

Bronx Zoo veterinary pathologists have completed their post-mortem testing of the bird, which revealed that Falco didn't just have traumatic injuries from his fall.

The bird that made Central Park his home was suffering from "two significant underlying conditions" because of his urban diet.

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"Flaco's severe illness and death are ultimately attributed to a combination of factors – infectious disease, toxin exposures, and traumatic injuries – that underscore the hazards faced by wild birds, especially in an urban setting," The Central Park Zoo said in a statement on Monday.

The veterinary pathologists determined that Falco "had a severe pigeon herpesvirus from eating feral pigeons." The herpesvirus caused severe tissue damage and inflammation in many of Flaco's organs.

The beloved owl also had "four different anticoagulant rodenticides that are commonly used for rat control in New York City" in his system.

"These factors would have been debilitating and ultimately fatal, even without a traumatic injury, and may have predisposed him to flying into or falling from the building," the experts concluded.

The Big Apple's celebrity owl, Falco, died on February 23, 2024.