ORNITOLOGIA NEOTROPICAL 14: 141–144, 2003 © The Neotropical Ornithological Society NEWS—NOTICIAS—NOTÍCIAS VIIth NEOTROPICAL ORNITHOLOGICAL CONGRESS Dates. – The VIIth Neotropical Ornitholog- although they know a few English words and ical Congress will take place from Sunday, attempts to communicate by non-Spanish 5 October through Saturday 11 October speakers will result in a meaningful exchange. 2003. Working days will be Monday 6, Puerto Varas has several outstanding restau- Tuesday 7, Wednesday 8, Friday 10, and rants (including sea food, several more ethnic Saturday 11 October 2003. Thursday 9 kinds of food, and, of course, Chilean fare). October 2003 will be a congress free day. In spite of its small size, Puerto Varas is quite After the last working session on Saturday 11 a cosmopolitan town, with a well-marked October, the congress will end with a ban- European influence. There are shops, bou- quet, followed by traditional Chilean music tiques, and other stores, including sporting and dance. goods stores. Congress participants will be able to choose from a variety of lodging alter- Venue. – Congress Center, in Puerto Varas, natives, ranging from luxury five-star estab- Xth Region, Chile (about 10 km N of Puerto lishments to ultra-economical hostels. Montt, an easy to reach and well-known Because our meeting will be during the “off ” travel destination in Chile. The Congress Cen- season for tourists, participants will be able to ter, with its meeting rooms and related facili- enjoy the town’s tourist-wise facilities and ties, perched on a hill overlooking Puerto amenities (e.g., the several cybercafes, compet- Varas, is only an 800-m walk from downtown itive money exchange businesses, and the where participants will lodge and dine in their many local tour offerings) without paying typ- selection of hotels, hostels, and eating facili- ical tourist prices. ties. Puerto Varas is only 18 km from Puerto Montt's El Tepual Airport, a modern facility Host City. – Puerto Varas is a small, friendly, with several daily flights to and from Santiago, and picturesque city of about 35,000 people Chile's capital, only about 1 h and a half away. nestled along the shores of Lake Llanquihue Several car rental companies operate offices at in Chile's beautiful Lake District. The the airport. Puerto Montt, the nearest large spectacular Volcanoes Osorno (2652 m) city, with about 150,000 people, is only 10 km and Calbuco (2015 m) can be seen across away by a new divided highway. Public bus the Lake from the city and the Congress service between Puerto Montt and Puerto Center. Puerto Varas has a wide range Varas is frequent, convenient, and cheap. The of accommodations, from modest hos- administrative seat of Chile's Xth Region, pedajes to luxurious 5-star hotels; it has Puerto Montt has excellent hospital facilities, seven banks (obtaining money from many shops, banks, and restaurants. Its water- your home bank is very easy through conve- front faces the beautiful Seno de Reloncaví, niently located ATM's). Most residents speak the northernmost point of the famous Chil- only Spanish, or Spanish and German, ean channels, with a grand backdrop of snow 141 NEWS—NOTICIAS—NOTÍCIAS capped Andean peaks. Puerto Montt's harbor, Co-chairs of the Scientific Program Angelmo, is the place to visit for local and Committee: superbly fresh seafood, and shops that sell a Jaime Jiménez, [email protected] great assortment of locally knit woollens and Cristina Y. Miyaki, [email protected] leather objects. Early October is spring in the Proceedings Committee: Lakes District of Chile, and plants blossom Editor: Raymond McNeil, Raymond. everywhere in the mild weather. Much of the [email protected] lushness of southern Chile is due to its rain- Assistant to the Editor: Ivan Lazo, bubo fall, and so you might expect occasional @entelchile.net showers. A raincoat and jacket are recom- mended. For those interested in becoming Scientific Program. – The scientific pro- acquainted with the area’s geography, people, gram will include plenary lectures, concurrent and natural history, we will provide a list of symposia sessions, oral papers, poster ses- books, maps, other publications, and relevant sions, and round-table discussions. In addi- web sites on our Congress Meeting web page tion, special evening sessions with talks and (under construction). A thorough and reputa- films are planned. For instructions concern- ble tour book (in Spanish) for Chile that we ing proposals of contributions, you are invited recommend is TurisTel 2001 (or 2002) Chile, to consult the NOS webpage (http://www.neo- ISBN [for the 2001 edition] 956-7264-70-8, tropicalornithology.org), and in the VIIth Neotro- published and distributed by Turismo y pical Ornithological Congress web-page Comunicaciones, S.A., Av. Santa Maria 0120, (http://www.nocchile.cl). Dead line: 30 June Providencia, Santiago, Chile; e-mail: info@ 2003 for symposia, round-tables, work- turistel.cl. shops, oral papers and posters. A rolling acceptance system will be in use, and the Sci- Congress Languages. – English and Span- entific Program Committee will notify sub- ish will be the working languages of the con- mitters of acceptance or rejection shortly gress. Translators will be provided for most, if after receipt of each abstract or proposal. not all sessions. Proceedings. – The proceedings of the VII Organization. – The VIIth Neotropical Neotropical Ornithological Congress will be Ornithological Congress of the Neotropical published after the congress as a special issue Ornithological Society will be held in con- or supplement of Ornitología Neotropical. This junction with the VIIth Congreso Chileno de publication will be peer-reviewed and edited Ornitología of the Unión de Ornitólogos de (see Proceedings Committee, above) and will Chile (UNORCH). include the full texts of the plenary lectures and of the symposia papers. Neotropical Congress Officers Ornithological Tours. – Tours of ornitho- President: François Vuilleumier, vuill@ logical interest will be offered during the con- amnh.org gress free day, Thursday 9 October 2003, in Secretary general: Luis Espinosa G., the environs of Puerto Varas (native forest, [email protected] & [email protected] lake, estuarine, wetland, and seashore habi- Congress Organizer for North America: tats). Highlights might include Podiceps major, M. Vickie McDonald, [email protected]. Spheniscus magellanicus, Theristicus caudatus, Mer- edu & [email protected] ganetta armata, Rallus sanguinolentus, Limosa hae- 142 NEWS—NOTICIAS—NOTÍCIAS mastica, Sterna trudeaui, Columba araucana, Pteroptochos megapodius, Scelorchilus albicollis, Enicognathus ferrugineus, Colaptes pitius, Cinclodes Tachuris rubrigastra, Mimus thenca, and Phrygilus patagonicus, Sylviorthorhynchus desmursii, Aphras- gayi). Details about these excursions will be tura spinicauda (the emblematic species on the published at a later date. cover of Ornitología Neotropical), Scelorchilus rubecula, Phytotoma rara, and Phrygilus patagoni- Official Host. – The host organization in cus. A variety of Pre- and Post-congress Chile is the Unión de Ornitólogios de Chile Tours, each 3-5 days in duration, will be (UNORCH), the national ornithological soci- offered to allow congress participants to ety of Chile. Founded in 1987, it was incorpo- enjoy a wide array of habitats and birds in rated as a non-profit organization under Chile, that 4000 km (2500 mile)-long country. Chilean law in 1989. UNORCH promotes These excursions will range from the Ata- the development of ornithological research in cama desert and high Andes in the far north Chile, supports the conservation and protec- (hoping to see species such as Tinamotis pen- tion of birds and their habitats, and diffuses tlandii, Phoenicoparrus andinus and Phoenicoparrus ornithological knowledge and education jamesi, Chloephaga melanoptera, Vultur gryphus, throughout Chile. UNORCH publishes a Fulica cornuta, Attagis gayi, Geositta punensis, journal, Boletín Chileno de Ornitología, which Muscisaxicola albifrons, Conirostrum tamarugense, includes the results of scientific research on and Phrygilus atriceps), to the Patagonian Chilean birds, and a newsletter, Boletín Infor- steppe and Nothofagus forests of the archipe- mativo, which includes ornithological news lagic zone of the far south (with such birds as and information about events and publica- Pterocnemia pennata, Diomedea melanophris, Ful- tions on the birds of Chile and other parts of marus glacialoides, Pelecanoides magellani, Chloe- South America. Street address is: UNORCH, phaga hybrida, Tachyeres patachonicus, Pluvianellus Avenida Providencia 1108, Local 32, Provi- socialis, Geositta antarctica, and Sicalis lebruni), dencia, Santiago, Chile; mailing address: including the central area with its Mediterra- UNORCH, Casilla 13.183, Santiago-21, nean-type climate (with the possibility of Chile; E-mail: [email protected]. sighting Phegornis mitchellii, Chilia melanura, THE NEOTROPICAL ORNITHOLOGICAL SOCIETY FUNDS The Neotropical Ornithological Society has please contact the Neotropical Ornithological three different funds. Each of them has a spe- Society Treasurer, Joe Meyers, at: jmey- cific purpose. All members of the NOS are [email protected]. uga.edu. strongly urged to donate even a small amount of money to one or more of these funds, for The Goelet Student Fund. – The Goelet example when they renew their subscription Student Fund was established at the VIth for the year 2001. Remember that your dona- Neotropical Congress