One of the first travelers to record observations on the bird life was Henry Wilson. Wilson was captain of the schooner "Antelope" which became grounded on a reef in the Palau Islands in August, 1783. He lived with the islanders while the ship was being repaired and kept a journal of his observations (Wilson, 1788). Wilson also visited several other islands in western Micronesia. Adelbert von Chamisso (1821), as naturalist with the Russian expedition in the ship "Rurick," made observations of the animal life in Micronesia in 1817 and 1818. Under the command of Otto von Kotzebue, this Russian expedition made the first detailed exploration of the Marshall Islands; visits were made also to Guam and Rota and to Yap, Fais, Ulithi, Palau, and other island groups in western Micronesia. Freycinet's famous expedition in the ships "Uranie" and "Physicienne," visited Guam, Rota, and Tinian in 1819. Quoy and Gaimard, the naturalists of the expedition, obtained birds, which were among the first to be described from Micronesia. These two naturalists revisited the Marianas in 1829 on board the ship "Astrolabe." Scientific results of both of these expeditions (Quoy and Gaimard, 1824-'26 and 1830-'35) include texts and plates dealing with the birds obtained. The French expedition in the corvette "La Coquille" visited Kusaie in June, 1824. Lesson (1829) wrote the zoology of this trip. Kittlitz (1836) of the expedition which sailed in the corvette "Le Seniavine" commanded by Lutké obtained birds at Kusaie in December and January, 1827-'28, at Guam in March, 1828, and at Lukunor and other islands of the Carolines. At Kusaie, Kittlitz found a rail (_Aphanolimnas monasa_) and a starling (_Aplonis corvinus_) which have not been obtained since his time. His specimens were deposited in St. Petersburg. He was one of the most competent of the early naturalists; his writings contain accounts of habits as well as descriptions and are accompanied by colored plates. The expedition which sailed on the "Astrolabe" and the "Zélée" in 1827-'40 under the command of Dumont d'Urville visited the Caroline Islands. The naturalists, Hombron and Jacquinot, obtained birds at Truk, including the interesting flycatcher, _Metabolus rugensis_, which they described (1841). The "Novara," in the course of its voyage around the world (1857-'59) visited the Caroline Islands in 1858. Birds were recorded from Ponapé, Lukunor and other islands by Pelzeln in his account of the birds of the expedition (1865).