Each evening bird lover Tom Rowe stood in his backyard in Devon, England, hooting like an owl – and one night, an owl called back to him.

For a year, the man and his feathered friend hooted back and forth. Rowe even kept a log of the conversation. Just as Rowe thought he was on the verge of a breakthrough in inter-species communication, his wife had a chat with next door neighbor, Nancy Hollis.

My husband spends his nights … calling out to owls, said Mrs. Rowe.

Thats odd, Mrs. Hollis replied. So does my John.

Then it dawned on them.