If you’ve read The Sword and the Stone you’ll recall the real sweetness and affection with which TH White writes the character of Archimedes, or Archie, the owl. He’s treated so kindly and preciously, with more pathos than the movie was able to achieve. So it shouldn’t be much of  surprise that TH White himself loved birds, especially hawks (falcons). So in the 1930s when he tries out falconry as a hobby (or more than an hobby) it’s with this same kind of sweetness and compassion. […]