114 Ohitiiary. 



Norwich, always a good and generous friend, and were 

 published by him in papers which appeared in ' The Ibis ' 

 from 1859-1868. Amongst his discoveries were the very 

 rare Thrush {Turdus gurneyi) and the Natal Long-tailed 

 Sugar Bird (Promerops gurneyi). 



On coming to Potchefstroom in 1865, Ayres and a brother 

 took to trading, following the " trek '' Boeis to the hunting 

 veld on the Marico and Crocodile Kivers, and collecting and 

 hunting in their spare time. 



This trading business apparently did not last long, and in 

 the "seventies^' gold drew Thomas Ayres to Lydenburg, 

 where, having no luck at digging, he turned again to 

 collecting. 



Though without commercial aptitnde, Ayres, like most 

 pioneers, was a resourceful man, and both at Lydenburg and 

 afterwards at Potchefstroom, his knowledge of brewing 

 stood him in good stead. Ayres returned to Potchefstroom, 

 and in 1880 was appointed naturalist to an expedition to 

 Matabeleland. 



From a collector's point of view, the expedition was very 

 successful, and the birds collected (with field-notes by Ayres) 

 were enumerated in ' The Ibis ' by Captain Shelley. 



Thenceforward, Ayres resided in Potchefstroom, then full 

 of attraction for a naturalist, making short collecting-trips 

 in the neighbouring districts. 



In the vleis bordering the Mooi River, he made his 

 interesting discovery of the White- winged Crake {Coturniceps 

 ayresii). In a quiet street Ayres purchased ground and 

 built, what from its quaint a})pearance became known as 

 " The Ark," and here he disj)ensed his simple hospitality to 

 his many friends. 



The results of Ayres's bird-collecting in the Transvaal were 

 recorded in 'The Ibis' in a serie5 of articles contributed 

 between 1859 and 1886 and afford much interesting reading. 



As time went on the weight of years, the enclosure of 

 waste lands, and the development of the town, not only 

 deprived him of much of his favourite occupation, but made 

 life harder in many ways. Yet in spite of all, his continual 

 cheerfulness was the admiration of all who knew him. 



