Patagonian Desert albeit to the west, where precipitation is higher, bushes are replaced by grasses. Topographically the deserts consist of alternating tablelands and massifs dissected by river valleys and canyons. The more western parts of the steppe host lakes of glacial origin and grades into barren mountains or cold temperate forests along valleys. Inhabited by hunter-gatherers since Pre-Hispanic times, the desert faced migration in the 19th century of Mapuches, Chileans, Argentines, Welsh, and other European peoples, transforming it from a conflictive borderland zone to an integral part of Argentina, with cattle, sheep and horse husbandry being the primary land uses. The Patagonian
Patagonian crested duck crested duck is not endangered. Although its global population is unknown, there are thought to be around 10,000 breeding pairs in the Falkland Islands. Its sibling subspecies, the Andean crested duck, is extremely rare even in captive collections. One of the main predators of the Patagonian crested duck is the black-crowned night heron. Adult ducks have few other predators though the younger ducklings are subject to predation by brown skuas. Patagonian crested duck The Patagonian crested duck ("Lophonetta specularioides specularioides"), also known as the southern crested duck, or the grey duck in the Falkland Islands, is the nominate of two