A first evaluation of the usefulness of feathers of nestling predatory birds for non-destructive biomonitoring of persistent organic pollutants

► Legacy POPs could be detected in body feathers from nestling predatory birds. ► POP levels in these nestlings were relatively high. ► Feather concentrations reflected the internal state of contamination. ► Very strong correlations indicated the advantage of sampling nestling feathers. ► Accumulation differences in feathers were explained by species-specific ecology.