Can't connect to beaglebone.local

I need to know how to connect to a beaglebone (or beagleboard) with SSH when I connect it to a new network using an ethernet cable as follows:

    $ ssh root@beaglebone.local 

So far, I could access it that way if I know the IP address:

    $ ssh root@<ip_address> 

But I do not always know the IP address of the board in new networks, so I hope to get access to it with a name like beaglebone.local.

Right now, when I try to do this, I get this error:

    "ssh: Could not resolve hostname beaglebone.local: nodename nor servname provided, or not known" 

I checked the hostname and hosts files and added "127.0.0.1 beaglebone" to the hosts on beaglebone, but not sure what else can I do?

    # cat /etc/hostname 
    beaglebone 

    # cat /etc/hosts 
    127.0.0.1        localhost.localdomain                localhost 
    127.0.0.1        beaglebone