Meet Western Nicaragua's Blue Jay.

Early in the morning, the grating calls of the White-throated Magpie-jay, or urraca, sometimes ring across the gully next door. Tropical Kingbirds and Clay-colored Thrushes often give chase to these dusty blue, long-tailed birds. Urracas have a varied diet, but nestlings of other birds likely feature on the menu this time of year. This beautiful bird, thankfully, is a familiar sight in the dry Pacific lowlands of Nicaragua.

I've yet to photograph an urraca in our yard. My wife took this shot along the coast, near San Juan del Sur. The White-throated Magpie-jay (Calocitta formosa) is found from the west coast of central Mexico to northwestern Costa Rica. I saw my first one years ago in Acapulco.