My own opportunity to study the bird life of Micronesia came as a member of the scientific staff of the Laboratory of Mammalogy of United States Naval Medical Research Unit No. 2 (NAMRU2) in the late war. The primary duty of this laboratory was to obtain examples of the vertebrate fauna for examination for ectoparasites by the Laboratory of Acarology and to preserve specimens for identification. As a result sizeable collections of mammals, birds, and other vertebrates were obtained. In addition, ecological data were obtained (as time permitted), especially as an aid in studying the distribution of ectoparasites which affected man. In 1945, I spent eleven months in Micronesia; for most of this time I was stationed at Guam, the headquarters of the Unit, although one month was spent in the Palau Islands, two weeks were spent at Ulithi Atoll, and short stop-overs were made at Eniwetok and Kwajalein atolls. Other members of the laboratory staff visited Rota and Truk islands. Subsequent to the field studies in the Pacific, I was sent to Washington and spent approximately eight months at the United States National Museum studying the collections of birds and preparing several reports for publication. In this period other material was studied, both in the United States National Museum and at the American Museum of Natural History, New York, and the literature dealing with the birds of Micronesia was explored and a bibliography of Micronesian birds was prepared. At the University of Kansas, I continued the bibliographic work, borrowed and studied some specimens, and completed accounts of the avifauna of Micronesia. Under the account of each bird, all known references in the literature, which mention the scientific name of the bird and its distribution in Micronesia, are listed. The references are arranged as follows: (1) citation to the original description, and (2) citations to names in literature in the order of their first appearance. When a name is a pure synonym, it may be recognized as such by the fact that the type locality is given immediately following the citation. In compiling these references the writer made use of the invaluable work by Wiglesworth (1891) and of Utinomi's "Bibliographica Micronesia," made available through the translation by Fisher (1947). The arrangement of the families follows that of Peters (1931-1945) and Wetmore (1940).