Comparative embryotoxicity of a pentabrominated diphenyl ether mixture to common terns (Sterna hirundo) and American kestrels (Falco sparverius)

•Forster’s tern eggs from San Francisco Bay contain high residues of PBDEs.•Relative sensitivity of terns to PBDEs is of importance to natural resource managers.•PBDE-treated common tern and American kestrel eggs hatched later than controls.•Oxidative stress and DNA damage was more pronounced in hatchling kestrels than terns.•Findings suggest that tern embryos are less sensitive to PBDEs than kestrel embryos.