| The fossil record of birds SL Olson Avian biology, 1985 | 948 | 1985 |
| The Birds of the Republic of Panama: Tinamidae (tinamous) to Rynchopidae (skimmers) A Wetmore Smithsonian Institution, 1965 | 440* | 1965 |
| Fossil birds from the Hawaiian Islands: evidence for wholesale extinction by man before western contact SL Olson, HF James Science 217 (4560), 633-635, 1982 | 413 | 1982 |
| Descriptions of thirty-two new species of birds from the Hawaiian Islands: Part I. Non-Passeriformes SL Olson, HF James Ornithological Monographs, 1-88, 1991 | 389 | 1991 |
| Zoogeography of West Indian vertebrates in relation to Pleistocene climatic cycles GK Pregill, SL Olson Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 12, 75-98, 1981 | 333 | 1981 |
| Fossil evidence for a diverse biota from Kaua ‘i and its transformation since human arrival DA Burney, HF James, LP Burney, SL Olson, W Kikuchi, WL Wagner, ... Ecological Monographs 71 (4), 615-641, 2001 | 331 | 2001 |
| Prodromus of the fossil avifauna of the Hawaiian Islands SL Olson, HF James | 320 | 1982 |
| Rails of the world: a monograph of the family Rallidae SD Ripley, JF Lansdowne, SL Olson David R. Godine Publisher, 1977 | 293 | 1977 |
| Descriptions of thirty-two new species of birds from the Hawaiian Islands: Part II. Passeriformes HF James, SL Olson Ornithological Monographs, 1-88, 1991 | 267 | 1991 |
| Unidirectional spread of secondary sexual plumage traits across an avian hybrid zone TJ Parsons, SL Olson, MJ Braun Science 260 (5114), 1643-1646, 1993 | 189 | 1993 |
| Evolution of the rails of the South Atlantic islands (Aves: Rallidae) SL Olson | 178 | 1973 |
| Fossil birds from late Quaternary deposits in New Caledonia JC Balouet, SL Olson | 175 | 1989 |
| Fossil vertebrates from Antigua, Lesser Antilles: evidence for late Holocene human-caused extinctions in the West Indies DW Steadman, GK Pregill, SL Olson Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 81 (14), 4448-4451, 1984 | 172 | 1984 |
| Classification of Rallidae SL Olson Wilson bulletin, 1973 | 172 | 1973 |
| Miocene and Pliocene birds from the Lee Creek Mine, North Carolina SL Olson, PC Rasmussen Smithsonian Contributions to Paleobiology 90, 233-365, 2001 | 165 | 2001 |
| Presbyornis and the origin of the Anseriformes (Aves: Charadriomorphae) SL Olson, A Feduccia | 165 | 1980 |
| Prevalence and diversity of avian hematozoan parasites in Asia: a regional survey F Ishtiaq, E Gering, JH Rappole, AR Rahmani, YV Jhala, CJ Dove, ... Journal of wildlife diseases 43 (3), 382-398, 2007 | 159 | 2007 |
| mtDNA from fossils reveals a radiation of Hawaiian geese recently derived from the Canada goose (Branta canadensis) EE Paxinos, HF James, SL Olson, MD Sorenson, J Jackson, RC Fleischer Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 99 (3), 1399-1404, 2002 | 159 | 2002 |
| The role of Polynesians in the extinction of the avifauna of the Hawaiian Islands SL Olson, HF James Quaternary extinctions: a prehistoric revolution, 1984 | 152 | 1984 |
| Relationships and evolution of flamingos (Aves, Phoenicopteridae) SL Olson, A Feduccia | 142 | 1980 |
