I'll have Marlboro flight! Moment a cheeky magpie hops inside car and steals driver's cigarettes

 This is the surreal moment a magpie raided a driver's car for cigarettes in China.

The phone footage was filmed on November 15 by a driver in the city of Dalian in the north-eastern Chinese province of Liaoning, who was sitting in his parked car when the magpie hopped in through a window.

The amused driver watched as the magpie pecked at a packet of cigarettes before pulling one out and holding it in its beak as if smoking.

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The driver joked that he would light the cigarette for the curious bird as he filmed the hilarious footage in Dalian, in the northeastern province of Liaoning

At one point the amused driver gets out his lighter and jokes: 'Let me light it for you!'

The footage begins with the apparently fearless magpie exploring the car before sticking his beak in the driver's cigarette packet and scattering cigarettes.

The bird then perches holding the cigarette packet and looks directly at the driver.  

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The Chinese magpie was shown sticking its beak into the carton before sitting on the steering wheel of the car

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The amused driver watched as the magpie pecked at a packet of cigarettes before pulling one out and holding it in its beak as if smokingA later clip shows the bird posing defiantly on the steering wheel with a cigarette in his beak - looking like it is trying to impress the camera.

Magpies have a reputation for stealing shiny objects and valuables in European culture but this one seems to have altogether cheaper tastes.

In East Asia, the birds are very common and culturally symbolic for good luck, and the driver's relaxed attitude with the magpie reflects this.