We identify and explore the properties of an infrared-bright gamma-ray burst (GRB) host population. Candidate hosts are selected by coincidence with sources in WISE, with matching to random coordinates and a false alarm probability analysis showing that the contamination fraction is ~0.5. This methodology has already identified the host galaxy of GRB 080517. We combine survey photometry from Pan-STARRS, SDSS, APASS, 2MASS, GALEX, and WISE with our own WHT/ACAM and VLT/X-shooter observations to classify the candidates and identify interlopers. Galaxy SED fitting is performed using MAGPHYS, in addition to stellar template fitting, yielding 13 possible IR-bright hosts. A further seven candidates are identified from the previously published work. We report a candidate host for GRB 061002, previously unidentified as such. The remainder of the galaxies have already been noted as potential hosts. Comparing the IR-bright population properties including redshift z, stellar mass M, star formation rate SFR, and V-band attenuation A_V_ to GRB host catalogues in the literature, we find that the infrared-bright population is biased towards low z, high M, and high A_V_. This naturally arises from their initial selection - local and dusty galaxies are more likely to have the required IR flux to be detected in WISE. We conclude that while IR-bright GRB hosts are not a physically distinct class, they are useful for constraining existing GRB host populations, particularly for long GRBs.

Cone search capability for table J/MNRAS/478/2/table1 (The 55 GRB X-ray positions for which a catalogued WISE source is identified within 1.5R90 of the X-ray error circle centroid, and is not rejected based on FAP, CCF, or blend cuts)

Cone search capability for table J/MNRAS/478/2/table2 (The 15 GRB X-ray positions which match to at least one WISE source within 1.5R90, but which have these matches rejected due to FAP, CCF, or WISE blending cuts)