The answer

Moonfairy and Talpa were right yesterday - this is a cigarette box. The top lid slides backwards and exposes a tilted receptacle for a number of cigarettes. When the bird is pushed forward a small drawer protrudes with one cigarette in a grooved slot. The bird's beak is designed to have sufficient contact with the cigarette to lift it out. Unfortunately our poor little 60+ year old bird has lost his upper beak and can no longer perform his trick.

My father was a very heavy smoker - three packets a day. From an early age I hated the smell and the butts. I have never smoked and have no respect for the tobacco industry. Dad didn't stop smoking until his late 50s but it was too late. He died from lung cancer at the age of 75 in 1993. I have mixed feelings about this 1950s novelty.

The 'cigarette' in the lower photo is, of course, not a cigarette. It is a pencil covered with white paper. I can assure you there are no cigarettes in our home, there never have been and there never will be.