FrivolousTracklights

I'm not aware of birds being much of a factor in the famines. Following the crackpot farming theories of Lysenko was a big factor.

Farmers were ordered to ‘close-plant’ (sowing millions of seeds of different species together in a small area) and ‘deep-plough’ (digging the ground much deeper to encourage deep root growth). Both these experiments failed and entire plantings yielded next to nothing. Farmers were forbidden to use chemical fertilisers and large amounts of land were left fallow, with poor results. 

By that point, Lysenko had already tried his theories in the USSR and failed (causing their famines), making it even more tragic. But that's what you get when you ignore agricultural science for a man who has "better" ideas.

https://alphahistory.com/chineserevolution/great-chinese-famine/

And the other one?

I can't imagine why anyone would take hallucinogens in a situation where unexpected and/or spooky things could happen.