haracteristics are not sufficiently clear, the species may be
identifiable by the characteristics of the baleen plates (Table 2).

[Illustration: Figure 33.--Three views of blowing humpback whales. The
blow of this species is usually less than 10 feet (3.1 m) tall, wider
than it is high, and has been described as balloon-shaped. In the photo
on the top, the wind has already begun to distort the blow. In the photo
on the bottom, two separate columns are visible. All baleen whales have
a bipartite blowhole, and if an observer is directly behind or in front
of either the right whale or the humpback whale under ideal wind
conditions, the blows of these two species may appear as two distinct
spouts. (_Photos from West Indies by H. E. Winn (top and middle) and
from off St. Augustine, Fla. by D. K. Caldwell (bottom)._)]

[Illustration: Figure 34.--Head views of surfacing humpback whales. Note
the rather broad rounded appearance of the top of the head and the small
head ridge, which extends from just in front of the blowholes to near
the tip of the snout. In humpback whales the single central head ridge
characteristic of most balaenopterid species is replaced in prominence
by a series of knobs, some of which are oriented along the same line as
the head ridge. On the animal in the inset photo note also the
characteristic rounded projection below the tip of the lower jaw,
heavily encrusted with barnacles. (_Photos from off St Augustine, Fla.
by D. K. Caldwell and from West Indies by H. E. Winn (inset)._)]

[Illustration: Figure 35.--A mother humpback whale with her newborn calf
off the northern West Indies. Newborn humpback whales are from 12 to 15
feet (3.7 to 4.6 m) long and are colored like the adults. Note the
mother's long white pectoral flipper, clearly visible below the surface.
(_Photo by H. E. Winn._)]

[Illustration: Figure 36.--Humpback whales fall back into the water
after breaching. Note the long flippers, distinctly scalloped on the
leading edge. In the animal on the top, note also the knobs on the head,
visible in profile, the cluster of barnacles located on the rounded
projection below the tip of the lower jaw, and the throat grooves.
(_Photos off Baja California by K. C. Balcomb (top) and off Bermuda by
C. Levenson (bottom)._)]

[Illustration: Figure 37.--Often, particularly on their tropical
breeding grounds, humpback whales lie on their sides at the surface, the
long white pectoral flipper in the air. Note