'Bird of Life, Bird of Death'

From the introduction:

This book is not, strictly speaking, a bird book, although it was written by a fanatical birder. Nor is it a true travelogue, even though I am an addicted traveller. Least of all is it a political history, although, like most men, I fancy myself something of a political expert. But this book does borrow shamelessly from all three genres.

“on-site burial being the custom for traffic fatalities”

the massacre of Maya civilians during the Guatemalan military government's counterinsurgency operations. Massacres, forced disappearances, torture and summary executions of guerrillas and especially civilian collaborators at the hands of security forces. A March 1985 study by the Juvenile Division of the Supreme Court estimated that over 200,000 children had lost at least one parent in the war and that between 45,000 and 60,000 adult Guatemalans were killed between 1980 and 1985.