I'm not sure it's a real inconsistency regarding to location, according to the Atlas they live in área marked as "S", the Rhiani Plains, not in the desert área marked as "U", that would mean they live in the less desertic región of the desert, logical as they are herders.
Regarding the nightvision, I always thought it meant good night visión because the clear eyes as some theories explain that some clear iris pigmentation have better night visión tan dark. I never considered as the same night vision as elves.