Owlspeak

Each evening bird lover Tom stood in his backyard, 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, with Tom even keeping a log of the "conversation."

Just as Tom thought he was on the verge of a breakthrough in inter-species communication, his wife had a chat with next-door neighbour's wife.

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

"That's odd," Mrs. Hollis replied. "So does my John."

Then it dawned on them.