Metro

Lola flies coop

One of New York City’s best-known power couples is no more.

Pale Male and his mate, Lola, the beloved red-tailed hawks of Central Park, have tragically been broken up.

Lola, who had been shacking up with Pale Male since 2002, appears to have flown the coop — or worse. She was last seen Dec. 18 and is now presumed dead, say bird enthusiasts.

In her place, Pale Male, who has been patrolling the skies over Manhattan for about 20 years, has taken up with a new gal pal, his fifth mate, whose markings are almost the complete opposite of his.

Unlike Pale Male, so named for his white coloring, the new female has a dark head, with deep-brown feathers wrapping under her chin and onto the front of her neck.

The new hawk is believed to be about 3 or 4 years old and first appeared about a week after Lola disappeared.

She has yet to be given a name by eagle-eyed fans of the birds who have been watching the pair’s nest, which is perched 12 stories high on a ritzy Upper East Side co-op building at 927 Fifth Ave.

“It’s pretty clear that Lola has met her demise, probably from a poisoned prey animal [such as a rat or pigeon] or by injury,” hawk expert John Blakeman wrote in an e-mail.

“This is not the season that experienced [female hawks] cavalierly absent themselves from their established territories.”

Other birders believe reports of Lola’s death are greatly exaggerated and hold out hope she’ll return.

“We’ll know what’s going on for sure in the spring,” said one.

Pale Male has fathered at least 23 chicks with different partners since arriving in Central Park in 1991.

“It’s astonishing how long he’s been around,” said Bradley Klein, an avid Central Park naturalist.

“The idea that he has been so successful is beyond anyone’s wildest dreams.”

don.kaplan@nypost.com