[THE FUTURE OF ORNITHOLOGICAL RESEARCH IN MICRONESIA]
Collections of birds have been made at most of the major islands of Micronesia, and it is thought that there are but few if any unnamed birds in the region. The distribution of several species has not been completely investigated, especially those land birds (Ducula, Ptilinopus, and Aplonis) which inhabit coral atolls in the Carolines and Marshalls. The bird life of the northern Marianas is also incompletely known. Continued observations in the Micronesian islands will increase our knowledge of the kinds of migratory shore birds and migratory land birds which reach the island as winter visitors. Further information is needed concerning the breeding activities of sea birds in Micronesia, especially in the Marshalls and Carolines.
The systematic status of most of the birds in Micronesia is already established. It is hoped that the present account advances our knowledge of the methods of colonization. Although these fundamental investigations have been nearly completed in Micronesia the field of avian ecology has been relatively untouched. In the past, expeditions have visited Micronesia with the aim of obtaining within a short time collections of the animal life as large and as representative as possible. Many of the collectors made few or no field notes on the bird life; some, like Finsch, Kubary, Marche, and Coultas, made valuable observations on the habits of the birds. Intensive ecological researches may be accomplished more thoroughly by resident investigators, who can devote full time to such pursuits.
[METHODS AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS]
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).
Specimens examined are designated as to collection in which catalogued by the following abbreviations: USNM, the United States National Museum; AMNH, the American Museum of Natural History; MCZ, the Museum of Comparative Zoölogy; and KMNH, the University of Kansas Museum of Natural History. Average and extreme measurements of specimens are usually listed in tables; unless otherwise indicated, measurements are in millimeters, and are of adult specimens. The wings have been measured by flattening them on a ruler. Weights are in grams. Unless otherwise indicated, descriptions of the birds have been written by the author. Descriptions of shore birds are not given; for these the reader may refer to Mayr (1945a:28-47) where characters useful for identification of the birds in the field also are given. The writer is especially indebted to Dr. Ernst Mayr for making available the descriptions of Micronesian birds made by Miss Cardine Bogert, especially those dealing with color of the irides, feet, and bill. Color terms in quotation marks refer to those in Ridgway (1912).