International Ornithological Congresses have been held at regular intervals since 1884. The XXIst IOC will be held in Vienna, Austria, in August, 1994. It will be the first congress to be held since the fall of the Iron Curtain, and it thus provides the first major opportunity since the end of World War II for extensive participation by scientists from both eastern and western bloc countries. Many cooperative, international projects are expected to be initiated at the congress, where the expected attendance may exceed 2,000 scientists and students. Participation by U.S. scientists in symposia, workshops, and so forth will be extensive. Symposia fall into five general thematic areas: systematics, evolution, and biogeography of birds; physiology and nutritional biology; behavior, migration, and orientation; ecology, reproduction, and population structure; and conservation. Funds from NSF are matched by funds from the American Ornithologists' Union for travel grants.
