It was once thought that Baird's beaked whales undertook migrations atypical of of whales, spending winter and spring in northern waters and summer and autumn in southern waters. It has since been discovered that they simply make inshore-offshore movements at different seasons in different areas that fooled early observers.

Brief Description:

• Typical full-grown length: up to 13 meters (about 43 feet)

• Color: slate gray to army brown to black, with white blotches on the undersides

• Shape of head: forehead is prominent and bulging, sloping to a long cylindrical beak

• Dorsal (back): dorsal fin is nearly triangular, and in the last one-third of its back

• Tail movement: occasionally raised on long dive (flukes are large and rarely notched)

• Habitat: central Baja California north to the Bering Sea