Do glucocorticoids in droppings reflect baseline level in birds captured in the wild? A case study in snow geese

► Fecal CORT should represent unbiased baseline CORT. ► CORT in droppings increased 1.5 h following injection of ACTH in captive snow geese. ► In wild birds, no relationship was found between plasma baseline and CORT in droppings. ► CORT in droppings increased with time and was already twice elevated 40 min after capture.