Avian thromboyctes are aggregated by a number of substances that cause platelet aggregation, and evidence suggests that this response is related to the release of serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine, 5-HT) from intracellular granules. In this study duck thrombocytes released 5-HT during collagen-induced aggregation, but thrombocytes incubated with 14C-labeled adenine did not release radioactive adenine nucleotides. These results indicate the existence of a metabolic pool of adenine nucleotides that is separate from released constituents of the cell. No unlabeled adenine compounds were detected in the supernatants of aggregated thrombocytes indicating either the rapid alteration of released nucleotides or the absence of a specific release pool of adenine nucleotides. Finally there is no release of the intracellular enzyme markers, lactate dehydrogenase, beta-glucuronidase, and acid phosphatase, during collagen-induced aggregation. These findings suggest that avian thrombocytes exhibit a specific release reaction and that serotonin acts as the functional counterpart of ADP in platelet aggregation.