Salt-adapted Pekin ducks were observed during a 2-week period following adrenalectomy so as to test the hypothesis that NaCl secretion by the nasal salt glands depends on adrenocortical steroids. Three days after adrenalectomy the total inputs of fluid and Na+ during a 90-min iv infusion of 1000 mOsm/kg NaCl were 77 and 80% respectively, of those in the sham-operated controls; 7 days after adrenalectomy they were 88 and 90%. Two weeks after adrenalectomy, cardiovascular function had deteriorated slightly and the total outputs of fluid and Na+ had fallen to 65 and 64%, respectively, of the control outputs. The onset of cardiovascular deterioration was delayed by feeding the ducks 0.9% NaCl drinking water ad libitum for 1 month before, and 2 weeks after, adrenalectomy. Adaptive hypertrophy of the nasal salt glands was not steroid-dependent since there was no measurable decrease in the weight of the glands during a 2-week period following adrenalectomy.