A man accused of killing hundreds of wedge-tailed eagles in Victoria's east has been handed the first custodial sentence for the destruction of protected wildlife in the state after he pleaded guilty to the crime.

Murray James Silvester faced Sale Magistrates Court on Monday morning charged over the deaths of the protected birds of prey.

He was found guilty of the death of 420 wedge-tailed eagles in East Gippsland between October 2016 and February this year, and sentenced to 14 days in jail and fined $2500.

It's understood to be the first custodial sentence for the destruction of protected wildlife handed out in Victoria.