Bowheads are large, robust whales and their shape is much less streamlined than most other baleen whales. This large, bow-shaped head distinguishes bowheads from other whales. Bowhead calves are gray and adults are black with varying amounts of white on their chins, bellies, and tail areas. The white patches plus scars sometimes make it possible for airborne researchers to identify individuals. Their skin is smooth and nearly free of external parasites.
Bowheads have short, wide flippers.
Their flukes are very broad, equalling one-third of the body length. Commercial whaling greatly reduced bowhead numbers and only remnant populations remain in most of their original range. During late March and April, bowheads move north through the Bering Strait as the pack ice retreats. Most bowheads follow leads, or cracks, in the ice through the Chukchi Sea along the Alaska coast to Point Barrow. They travel offshore across the Beaufort Sea and arrive in Canadian waters from mid-May through June.