Oceanic birds found in Micronesia belong to the following families:
Diomedeidae, Procellariidae, Phaëthontidae, Pelecanidae, Fregatidae,
and Laridae. Following Wynne-Edwards (1935:240) and Murphy (1936:326),
these birds may be grouped as inshore birds (Laridae and others),
offshore birds (Pelecanidae, Fregatidae and others), and pelagic birds
(Diomedeidae, Procellariidae, Phaëthontidae). As shown in table 2 there
are 30 kinds of oceanic birds in Micronesia, 18 kinds that are resident
and 12 kinds that are regarded as visitors to the area. Records of
nestings are few; field work in the future probably will yield evidence
that more kinds of oceanic birds are actually resident in the
Micronesian islands.