Yet another pretty bird

I've been trying to get a good picture of this bird for several days, but I only see them at dusk, and they don't come very close to me, so the pictures I've been able to take haven't been worth posting.

However, I do believe I've identified this beauty (with the help of some friends on the Sonlight Curriculum forums, so I'm going to post a picture of the bird anyway, and count it on my list - which is now all the way up to three birds!

Here's the best picture I took:



I know you can't tell much from that picture, beyond the basic shape of the bird. I have been able to get a closer look than what you see in the picture, so I'll give you my description.

First of all, this bird is mostly black (or at least appears that way at dusk - the internet pictures seem to show more blue on the body than I'm seeing). The wings and tail are a shiny blue, so the bird shows up as a bright spot of color in the trees. I always see these birds in a flock of about a dozen or more. They come to the trees behind our house around 5:30 pm (which is the beginning of dusk here in the tropics) and they make quite a bit of noise, as they chatter to one another. I rarely see them fly any great distance, and only occasionally do I see them land on the ground. They move about in the trees as though visiting with one another before settling in for the night. I'll see three or four fly in to sit together on the same branch, before they fly off into other trees.

I believe that what we have here is a Bushy-crested jay. Here is a link to a much better picture. Isn't that a beautiful bird? According to the information I've read about it, this bird has an exceptionally small range - but I happen to be located right in the midst of it. So, this is a very uncommon bird to most bird enthusiasts, but I have big flocks of them in my yard. Kind of neat, huh?