Falkland Islands
The Falkland Islands lie on the boundary of the subantarctic ocean and tundra climate zones and contain East Falkland, West Falkland and 776 smaller islands. Cold and windswept, there are no native trees, instead there are grasslands dominated by tussock grass, heath, shrubs or feldmark made up of cushion plants. 63 species of birds breed on the island, including two endemics (Cobb's wren and the Falkland steamer duck) and 14 endemic sub-species. There are 5 species of penguin - king, rockhopper, magellanic, gentoo and macaroni and the largest breeding population of black-browed albatross in the world - consisting of 80% of the global population or around 400 000 pairs! Killer whales, elephant seals, southern sea lions and Peale's and Commerson's dolphins frequent the surrounding waters.
