Our knowledge of shorebird identification, age determination, and status along the Pacific coast and elsewhere in North America was only in the fledgling stage in 1977 when Prater, Marchant, and Vuorinen published their groundbreaking Guide to the Identification and Ageing of Holarctic Waders. Additional major reference works (e.g., Hayman, Marchant, and Prater 1986; Chandler 1989; Paulson 1993; and Rosair and Cottridge 1995) and a myriad of shorter articles about shorebird status and identification have been published over the ensuing 23 years.