Magpies have a reputation of being voracious predators of songbirds, among other things, as they feed on their eggs and chicks. With that introduction, in February 1930, F.H. Taylor, Lassen County Horticultural Commissioner and Stan Brown, Lassen County Farm Advisor experimented on a poison concoction to combat the “magpie pestilence” in the Standish district. They considered it a success with more than 100 magpies killed in the first attempt.
On a final note, when my mother, then Ardene Tanner, was a small child, who grew up in that region, told me she would collect magpie eggs as Fish and Game would pay her five cents for every egg. This she said was a worthwhile financial endeavor, since this was in the late 1930s.