| The empty expanses of the puna, as the grasslands are called in the Andes, correspond to the silence in which we walked. |
| We also saw guanacos, vicuñas, wild donkeys, nesting Andean Tagua coots, Pato puna ducks with vivid blue bills, and a dozen other bird species, but very little human traffic. |
| Soil types in Argentina range from the light-coloured saline formations of the high puna in the Northwest to the dark, humus-rich type found in the Pampas. |
| These valles, quebradas and puna are the three inhabited zones of the Andes. |
| He published seminal papers on the ecology of the puna avifauna and on the breeding biology of several of its endemic species. |
| Surely this haunting scenery inspired many of the local legends, including tales of goblin spirits that live alone in the puna, the Altiplano, and enjoy tormenting rural travelers. |
