Winston Churchill, Generalissimo & Madame Chiang Kai-shek and Joseph Stalin were among the rare birds whose watercolor portraits (after John James Audubon) were shown in Manhattan's Raymond & Raymond gallery last week (see cut). Their natures were suitably described by their caricaturist, 31-year-old San Franciscan Justin Murray. Sample: "Protectus Defendus (Joseph Stalin) --RANGE: Unpredictable. HABITAT: Enjoys sub-zero temperatures and thick, slimy mud. Remarkably mobile, he is frequently found far behind his enemies' nests. IDENTIFICATION: A large, tough bird--much tougher than anyone imagined. VOICE: Seldom heard. FOOD: Feeding habits are almost entirely beneficial to man, since its diet is largely composed of destructive rodents and fuhrer-bearing animals." The Chiangs were found in "a sturdy little nest in the vicinity of Chungking," and Churchill was heard to have "a well-prepared song."

Air Forces Major James ("Jimmy") Stewart, on his fifth bombing raid over Europe, wore his new gold oak leaves.

Sophisticates

Pietro di Donate, handsome 32-year-old bricklayer-turned-novelist (Christ in Concrete), just married in Manhattan by Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia, told reporters he was planning a Hoboken honeymoon. When asked what his professional plans were, Pietro a longtime breadwinner for seven orphaned brothers & sisters and more recently a conscientious objector, replied: "I don't know. I'm too sophisticated to go back to bricklaying and I'm too confused to return to writing."

Ezio Pinza, Metropolitan Opera star, took precautions against dog homesickness as he handed his Dalmatians, Boris and Figaro, over to Dogs for Defense. With the dogs, long accustomed to his house-filling basso, he sent records of their master's voice.

Tune Callers

Henry Ford bought off for an undisclosed sum Swingster Tommy Dorsey's $130,000 contract for a 13-week Ford radio appearance. The aged patron of country fiddlers was reported to have objected to the way modern dance bands go to town.

Lionel Hampton, nimble-fingered Negro bandleader and vibraharpist,* joyfully admitted that he moans and grunts while hammering his instrument. Said he: "Some people say I sound like a billy goat. . . ."

O-Tenshi-Sami, the most influential living poet (better known as Hirohito, Emperor of Japan), had "a very slight cold." An outdoor poetry party was called off until he felt better.

Blue Bloods

Sir Cuthbert de Hoghton, 63, holder of the second oldest baronetcy in England (created in 1611), married in Lancashire his dark, rosy-cheeked secretary, Philomena Simmons, 19, who had come to help him with his mail after his first wife died in October. The bride was given away by her brother, a coal company clerk. Said stout Sir Cuthbert: "I have always been proud that I am a true Tory democrat. . . ."

Prince A. A. Nwafor Orizu, son of British Colonial Nigeria's late Ezeugbonyamba I, the Obi of Nnewi, kept on looking for scholarships to U.S. colleges--not for himself, but for high-school graduates back home. An Ohio State University alumnus just awarded his M. A. by Columbia, Orizu told a Manhattan reporter that he had broken Nigerian traditions by getting his education in the U.S. (rather than in England), hoped other Nigerians would follow him.

* A vibraharp (or vibraphone, or "vibes") is a modern variety of glockenspiel (metal xylophone) played with felt hammers and fitted with electrical resonators which impart a mechanical vibrato to its bell-like tones.

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