Nicky Hilton unleashes her animal instinct in leopard print coat as she pounds the pavement in NYC

Nicky Hilton unleashed her animal instincts in a leopard print coat as she was spotted on the sidewalk in New York on Thursday.

Just a few days before Christmas, Paris Hilton's 40-year-old sister showed up in the city that never sleeps to run an errand.

She draped her striking shawl over an otherwise all-black ensemble, a quintessential example of Manhattan chic.

Her form-fitting leather pants matched her boots, and she pulled the look together with a simple black scarf and a quilted handbag.

Wearing her signature blonde hair in a ponytail, the leggy socialite chatted on the phone as she walked down the street.

Nicky Hilton unleashed her animal instincts in a leopard print coat as she was spotted on the sidewalk in New York on Thursday

Her latest outing comes a day after she celebrated her eldest daughter Teddy's birthday by taking her to the Radio City Christmas Spectacular.

Nicky and her husband James Rothschild share three children: Teddy, six, Lily-Grace, five, and a one-year-old son whose name she has not revealed.

At Teddy's sixth birthday party at Radio City Music Hall, Nicky's handsome brother Baron Hilton II and his pregnant wife Tessa Gräfin von Walderdorff were in attendance.

Baron and Tessa were also accompanied by their two older children: their three-year-old daughter Milou and one-year-old son Caspian.

Tessa can trace her lineage to a branch of the Wittelsbachs, the famously eccentric Bavarian royal family from which Wagner's patron, the mad King Ludwig, emerged.

Nicky married James, a grandson of the third Baron Rothschild, in 2015 in a ceremony in the Orangery of Kensington Palace with Paris as bridesmaid.

Paris became a mother herself twice this year, welcoming two children via surrogacy with her venture capitalist husband Carter Reum.

They shocked the world in January when they announced the arrival of their son Phoenix, and then did so again on Thanksgiving when Paris broke the news that she now had a daughter and had named her London.

Just a few days before Christmas, Paris Hilton's 40-year-old sister showed up in the city that never sleeps to run an errand

She draped her striking shawl over an otherwise all-black ensemble, a quintessential example of Manhattan chic

Just a few days before Christmas, Paris Hilton's 40-year-old sister showed up in the city that never sleeps to run an errand

Her figure-hugging leather pants matched her boots, and she pulled the look together with a simple black scarf and a quilted handbag

Her figure-hugging leather pants matched her boots, and she pulled the look together with a simple black scarf and a quilted handbag

Social media was ablaze over the baby girl's name, with fans pointing out that the old Disney Channel sitcom The Suite Life Of Zack And Cody featured a character named London Tipton (Brenda Song) who was an obvious parody of Paris .

Paris herself noticed the link between her and the sitcom character years ago, tweeting that she had realised, “London Tipton is actually me.”

Meanwhile, Nicky gave an interview this month about how her and Paris' approach to the holidays has changed since they had children.

“I mean, normally around this time of year we're trying to figure out what to do for New Year's Eve. Should we go to Vegas?' she said People. 'But this year we are talking about an outing with all the children.'