eBird MCP Server

Combine eBird with AI: Build Your Personal Bird Observation Assistant

This project integrates the eBird API with an MCP (Model Context Protocol) Server, enabling you to query bird observation data via natural language directly inside Claude's chat window.

Getting Started

Prerequisites

• eBird API Key: Create an eBird account and request an API key.
• Claude Desktop App: Download and install the Claude Desktop application.
• Install Python (See this tutorial).

Installation

Clone the repository

git clone git@github.com:siansiansu/ebird-mcp-server.git
 cd ebird-mcp-server

Install dependencies

pip install -r requirements.txt

Configuration

Configure Claude Desktop

1. Open Claude Desktop.

2. Navigate to Settings > Developer > Edit Config > Edit `claude_desktop_config.json` File.

3. Replace the configuration with your paths and API key:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "ebird-api": {
      "command": "/absolute/path/to/python",
      "args": [
        "/absolute/path/to/ebird-mcp-server/server.py"
      ],
      "env": {
        "EBIRD_API_KEY": "your-ebird-api-key"
      }
    }
  }
}

Important:

• `command`: Absolute path to your Python executable.
• `args`: Absolute path to `server.py`.
• `EBIRD_API_KEY`: Your eBird API key.

Restart Claude

After saving the configuration, restart the Claude Desktop app. It will automatically launch and manage the MCP server.

Usage

Open a chat in Claude and use any of the example prompts (or your own) to query eBird data.

Features

Here are example prompts you can use to query data. The AI will decide when to call the eBird MCP Server, or you can explicitly instruct it to do so.

Observations

Query recent observations in a location

What birds have been seen recently in Budai, Chiayi?

Query recent observations of a species

Are there any recent records of Black-faced Spoonbill in Tainan?

Query notable (rare) observations

What rare birds have been reported recently in Hsinchu?

Checklists

Top contributors

List the top 100 eBird contributors in Taipei on June 26, 2025.

All checklists on a date

Show all checklists submitted in Kaohsiung on June 15, 2024.

Recent checklists

Provide the latest checklists submitted in Tainan.

Summary statistics

Summarize all observation checklists in New Taipei on June 20, 2024.

Checklist details

Show details for checklist ID S12345678.

Hotspots

List hotspots in a location

List all eBird hotspots in Tainan.

Nearby hotspots

List birding hotspots within 5 km of my current location.

Taxonomy

Official taxonomy

Provide the eBird taxonomy data for Black-faced Spoonbill.

List subspecies

List all subspecies of White-breasted Waterhen.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License.