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Diet is the major route of exposure to environmental contaminants in biota and, after penetration into an organism, xenobiotics continue to accumulate in the body. In birds the egg-laying process acts as a transfer mechanism for the accumulated pollutants and results in the burdening of the next generation at an early stage of development. This transfer has a strong influence on developmental disorders and even breeding success. With this in mind polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE), polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and polychlorinated dibenzo furans (PCDD/Fs), as well as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), were analyzed in the eggs of aquatic birds from different habitats and with different diet preferences. The highest concentration of PBDE was noted in gull eggs (198.31 ng g−1 dw.) and the lowest in tern eggs (sandwich tern: 76.96 ng g−1 dw.; common tern: 113.73 ng g−1 dw). Deca-BDE was detected only in herring gull eggs from the Wloclawek reservoir. PCDDF/s were found in the eggs of terns from the southern coast of the Baltic Sea and gulls from an inland reservoir (dam) on the River Vistula close to the town of Wloclawek. The highest toxicity (birds Toxic Equivalent Factor) was found in the eggs of terns (sandwich tern – 93.97 pg g−1 dw., common tern – 68.35 pg g−1 dw.), and this was found to be several times higher than in herring gull eggs (18.80 pg g−1 dw.). Non-dioxin like PCBs were ten times higher than other analyzed PCB congeners, but the congener pattern was similar to other studies. • Deca-BDE was found only in gull eggs from an inland reservoir. • Highly chlorinated furans have the lowest concentration in birds' eggs. • Chlorinated compounds dominated in tern eggs, brominated in gull eggs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]