AviBase MCP Server

Instructions

Implementation Reference

• mcp-server.js:516-540 (handler)

  The main handler function that implements the get_birds_by_authority tool. It extracts authority and limit from args, calls the /authority API endpoint, and returns a formatted markdown response with bird details.

    async handleGetBirdsByAuthority(args) {
      const { authority, limit = 50 } = args;
      const endpoint = `/authority?name=${encodeURIComponent(authority)}&limit=${limit}`;
      const response = await this.makeAPIRequest(endpoint);
  
      return {
        content: [
          {
            type: 'text',
            text: `# Birds Described by ${authority}
  
  👨‍🔬 **${response.pagination.totalItems}** birds described by ${authority}
  
  **Historical contributions:**
  ${response.data.slice(0, 15).map((bird, i) => `${i + 1}. **${bird.Scientific_name}**
     - Common name: ${bird.English_name_AviList || 'No common name'}
     - Family: ${bird.Family}
     - Year: ${bird.Authority}
     - Publication: ${bird.Bibliographic_details ? bird.Bibliographic_details.substring(0, 80) + '...' : 'Not specified'}`).join('\n\n')}
  
  ${response.pagination.hasNext ? `\n*Note: Showing first ${response.data.length} of ${response.pagination.totalItems} total species described by ${authority}.*` : ''}`,
          },
        ],
      };
    }

• mcp-server.js:185-199 (schema)

  Input schema for the get_birds_by_authority tool, defining required 'authority' string parameter and optional 'limit' number.

  inputSchema: {
    type: 'object',
    properties: {
      authority: {
        type: 'string',
        description: 'Name of the taxonomic authority',
      },
      limit: {
        type: 'number',
        description: 'Maximum number of results to return (default: 50)',
        default: 50,
      },
    },
    required: ['authority'],
  },

• mcp-server.js:182-200 (registration)

  Tool registration in the listTools response, including name, description, and input schema.

  {
    name: 'get_birds_by_authority',
    description: 'Find birds described by a specific taxonomic authority (e.g., Linnaeus, Darwin, etc.).',
    inputSchema: {
      type: 'object',
      properties: {
        authority: {
          type: 'string',
          description: 'Name of the taxonomic authority',
        },
        limit: {
          type: 'number',
          description: 'Maximum number of results to return (default: 50)',
          default: 50,
        },
      },
      required: ['authority'],
    },
  },

• mcp-server.js:306-307 (registration)

  Dispatch case in the CallToolRequestSchema handler that routes calls to get_birds_by_authority to its handler function.

  case 'get_birds_by_authority':
    return await this.handleGetBirdsByAuthority(args);