Thomas Ayres (1828–1913) was a British born South African ornithologist. In 1850 he migrated with his family to Natal where he started to collect birds. In 1865 he and his brother Jack moved to Potchefstroom, where they hunted and traded with the Boer settlers. He later did much to encourage the young Austin Roberts, who was subsequently to produce the premier South African fauna guides “The Birds of South Africa” and “The Mammals of South Africa”, in his zoological interests. Ayres is commemorated in the names of the Ayres' Hawk-Eagle (Hieraaetus ayresii), Ayres’ Cisticola (Cisticola ayresii), and the White-winged Flufftail (Sarothura ayresi).