Almost everywhere we go in Houston, particularly when near Buffalo Bayou, we can hear the raucus cry of the blue jay. Occasionally you get to see these beautiful birds and that brilliant flash of blue. But they do seem to be camera shy. What a nice surprise when this one posed on a car park near the bayou.
Being not far from the sea, this is probably the ‘coastal’ variant mentioned by Wikipedia, as opposed to the ‘interior’ or ‘northern’ variants.
I can't believe it! 
I always find it amazing how birds vary in different locals. When I moved here to Nova Scotia I was amazed and thrilled by the Blue Jays and continue to be. It is incredible how raucous they are most of the time except when nesting, then nary a peep just very low chattering!
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Well, this is embarrassing. I’ve lived in the area since I was 11 years old and watched birds at some level since I was 13. Never knew (or perhaps forgot in my dotage) that there was a “coastal” variant of the blue jay. Very rarely see them these days but often hear them. For all their color and vocalizing, they, like cardinals, are adept at hiding.
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