blue jay

Blue Jays. Cyanocitta cristata if you want the Latin. Commonly referred to as "those damn Jays".

They frequent this area and I certainly do hear them often enough but for some odd reason I rarely see them in my yard. As you can see above, the markings on the back are quite striking and they have a distinctive beak as can be seen below, but despite their beauty, Jays are damn hard to like. They just make too much damn noise.