
Examples of animals that live in trees include birds, bees, squirrels, snakes, and lizards.
Trees are an important part of Earth’s ecosystem. They provide shade, fruit, and shelter for many animals.
Animals that live in trees are called arboreal animals. This is a list of the most common types of tree-dwelling creatures:
Examples of Animals that live in Trees
1. American Robin
Scientific Name | Turdus migratorius |
Type of Animal | Bird |
Range | Canada |
Diet | Omnivore |
The American Robin is a small bird that lives in North America. It likes to eat fruits and berries from trees.
They also eat insects. The American Robin sleeps in trees during the day and they fly out at night to find food.
Related Article: What is the Color of American Robin Egg?
2. Bees
Scientific Name | Anthophila |
Type of Animal | Insect |
Range | Worldwide |
Diet | Omnivore |
Bees live in colonies and make their homes in trees. They build their hives from wax, propolis (a sticky resin), and pollen.
3. Brushtail Possum
Scientific Name | Trichosurus vulpecula |
Type of Animal | Mammal |
Range | Australia |
Diet | Herbivore |
The brushtail possum is a common tree-dwelling marsupial. It is native to Australia and Tasmania but can be found in New Zealand as an invasive species because people brought them there for the fur trade.
Brushtails are omnivores that eat leaves, fruits, flowers, sap from trees, and even insects.
4. Chameleons
Scientific Name | Chamaeleonidae |
Type of Animal | Reptile |
Range | Worldwide |
Diet | Omnivore |
Chameleons are a type of lizard that can change color to blend in with their surroundings. They live in trees and bushes in Africa, Asia, and Europe.
The long-tailed chameleon is one of the largest types. It can reach over a foot in length, including its tail! This type of lizard has three sets of eyes: two large ones on either side and another much smaller pair below them.
Chameleons are carnivores that eat insects like beetles, spiders, flies, and crickets. Although they spend most of their time in trees, chameleons can also live on the ground sometimes.
Related Article: Are Chameleons Stealthy?
5. Chickadees
Scientific Name | Paridae |
Type of Animal | Bird |
Range | Alaska and Canada |
Diet | Omnivore |
Chickadees are small songbirds that live in trees. They are found in North America and Europe. Chickadees eat seeds, insects, and fruit.
6. Dark-Eyed Junco
Scientific Name | Junco hyemalis |
Type of Animal | Bird |
Range | Canada |
Diet | Omnivore |
This small gray bird is found in North America and parts of Europe. They live in coniferous forests and eat insects, seeds, and fruit.
7. Eastern Gray Squirrel
Scientific Name | Sciurus carolinensis |
Type of Animal | Mammal |
Range | Canada |
Diet | Omnivore |
The Eastern Gray Squirrel loves the snow, so it only lives near mountains where there are plenty of coniferous forests with spruce, pine, and fir trees. They build nests out of leaves and twigs high up in the trees.
8. Flying Lemur
Scientific Name | Dermoptera |
Type of Animal | Mammal |
Range | Southeast Asia |
Diet | Herbivore |
The colugo is a small, lemur-like mammal that sleeps in trees at night and hunts for insects during the day. They are also known as “flying lemurs” because they can glide from tree to tree using the large membranes of skin between their limbs.
Colugos are found in Southeast Asia and parts of China.
9. Fruit Bat
Scientific Name | Pteropodidae |
Type of Animal | Mammal |
Range | Africa, Asia, Europe, and Australia |
Diet | Herbivore |
This bat lives in trees and eats fruit. It pollinates plants as it spreads the seeds throughout its range during flight. Fruit bats eat a lot of fruit so they are particularly important to rainforest ecology by spreading their food around.
10. Gecko
Scientific Name | Gekkonidae |
Type of Animal | Reptile |
Range | Worldwide |
Diet | Carnivore |
Geckos are small lizards that live in warm climates. They have sticky toes that allow them to climb up trees and walls. These animals are able to cling onto different surfaces because of the unique shape and structure of their feet.
Geckos have thousands of tiny hairs on each toe that help them stick to almost any surface. Their toes also contain mucus-filled microscopic grooves that create a strong bond with whatever they want to climb up or down from.
11. Genet
Scientific Name | Genetta |
Type of Animal | Mammal |
Range | Africa |
Diet | Omnivore |
These small, spotted animals are native to Africa. They live in trees and bushes and eat insects, rodents, and other small animals.
12. Giant Panda
Scientific Name | Ailuropoda melanoleuca |
Type of Animal | Mammal |
Range | China |
Diet | Herbivore |
The Giant Panda is one of the most popular animals in the world, but it’s also very rare.
The panda lives in forested mountains where they eat bamboo all day long. Giant Pandas are a type of bear and they’re actually really good climbers. They use their long claws to grip the trees as they climb around, going from tree to tree all day long.
13. Gibbon
Scientific Name | Hylobatidae |
Type of Animal | Mammal |
Range | Southeast Asia |
Diet | Omnivore |
Gibbons are the only type of ape that lives in trees. They live in southeast Asia and have long arms with strong hands that they use to swing from branch to branch.
14. Greater Glider
Scientific Name | Petauroides volans |
Type of Animal | Mammal |
Range | the eastern coast of the Australian |
Diet | Herbivore |
The Greater Glider is a mammal that lives in Australia. It has fur that is gray or brown on the top and white on the bottom. This creature can glide from tree to tree using skin flaps between its arms.
15. Green Mamba
Scientific Name | Dendroaspis angusticeps |
Type of Animal | Reptile |
Range | West Africa |
Diet | Carnivore |
The green mamba is a venomous snake that lives in trees and shrubs. It prefers to live on the edge of forests, where it spends its time high up in a tree or bush looking for prey like birds or rodents.
Read Also: 25 Animals that are Green
16. Green Tree Python
Scientific Name | Morelia viridis |
Type of Animal | Reptile |
Range | Australia, New Guinea, and eastern Indonesia |
Diet | Carnivore |
The green tree python is a non-venomous snake found in New Guinea and Australia. They live almost their entire life high up in trees, especially rainforest canopies.
17. Grey-Headed Flying-Fox
Scientific Name | Pteropus poliocephalus |
Type of Animal | Mammal |
Range | Australia |
Diet | Herbivore |
The grey-headed flying fox is the largest bat in Australia. It lives in forests and rural areas, where it roosts (sleeps) in trees during the day. At night, they fly out to eat fruit from flowering trees.
18. Hoatzin
Scientific Name | Ophisthocomus hoazin |
Type of Animal | Bird |
Range | Amazon and Orinoco river basins |
Diet | Herbivore |
The hoatzin is a species of bird that lives in the Amazon rainforest. They are known for their large, colorful crest (a type of decoration on top of the head), and their ability to eat some very toxic plants with no ill effects.
19. House Finch
Scientific Name | Haemorhous mexicanus |
Type of Animal | Bird |
Range | western North America |
Diet | Herbivore |
The house finch is a small songbird that lives in North America. They are known for their bright red coloring, which helps them stand out against the green leaves of trees. House finches typically build their nests in hanging plants or tree cavities.
20. Howler Monkey
Scientific Name | Alouatta |
Type of Animal | Mammal |
Range | southern Brazil, Paraguay, eastern Bolivia, and northern Argentina |
Diet | Omnivore |
Howler monkeys are one of the more common species of New World monkeys. They live in Central and South America in a variety of different habitats, including rainforest, savannah, and montane forest.
Howler monkeys are known for their loud, whooping calls that can be heard up to three miles away. They typically live in groups of around 15-20 animals, but some groups may have as many as 100 members.
Howler monkeys spend the majority of their lives in trees, using their long tails for balance while they swing through the branches.
21. Italian Tree Frog
Scientific Name | Hyla intermedia |
Type of Animal | Reptile |
Range | Italy, Slovenia, Switzerland, and possibly San Marino |
Diet | Carnivore |
The Italian tree frog is a species of frog that lives in trees near water. They are green or brown and have a webbing between their toes that helps them climb slippery surfaces.
22. Kinkajou
Scientific Name | Potos flavus |
Type of Animal | Mammal |
Range | Central and South America |
Diet | Omnivore |
The kinkajou is a mammal from Central and South America that lives in the trees. They are the only members of the raccoon family that live in trees. Kinkajous are nocturnal, meaning they are active at night.
23. Koala
Scientific Name | Phascolarctos cinereus |
Type of Animal | Mammal |
Range | Australia |
Diet | Herbivore |
The Koala lives in Australia and eats mostly eucalyptus leaves. They sleep most of the day and hang out in trees.
24. Microbat
Scientific Name | Microchiroptera |
Type of Animal | Mammal |
Range | worldwide except in the Arctic and Antarctic |
Diet | Herbivores, Carnivores, Frugivores |
Microbats are the smallest bats in the world. They weigh less than half an ounce and have a wingspan of just four inches. Microbats live mainly in trees, where they use their specially adapted claws to cling to the bark.
25. Mink
Scientific Name | Neovison vison |
Type of Animal | Mammal |
Range | North America |
Diet | Carnivore |
The mink is a small, semi-aquatic mammal that lives in the wetlands of North America. They are excellent swimmers and climbers and spend most of their time in trees.
26. Nuthatches
Scientific Name | Sitta |
Type of Animal | Bird |
Range | Northern Hemisphere |
Diet | Herbivore |
Nuthatches are small birds that live in both North America and Europe. They have a very distinctive way of moving through trees, which involves running down tree trunks headfirst. This makes them look like they’re upside-down as they travel from branch to branch.
27. Orangutan
Scientific Name | Pongo |
Type of Animal | Mammal |
Range | Borneo |
Diet | Omnivore |
The orangutan is a species of great ape that lives in the rainforests of Indonesia. They are known for their long hair and orange-red fur, which help them camouflage with trees when they climb from branch to branch.
28. Raccoon
Scientific Name | Procyon lotor |
Type of Animal | Mammal |
Range | North America |
Diet | Omnivore |
The raccoon is a medium-sized mammal that lives all over North America. They have greyish fur, a long bushy tail with black markings on it, and hand-like paws which they use to open trash cans
29. Red-Shafted Flicker
Scientific Name | Colaptes auratus |
Type of Animal | Bird |
Range | northern British Columbia through most of the Canadian prairies and south into Mexico |
Diet | Omnivore |
The red-shafted flicker is a type of woodpecker found in North America. They live in forests and woodland areas and are known for their habit of nesting in trees.
30. Rufous Hummingbird
Scientific Name | Selasphorus rufus |
Type of Animal | Bird |
Range | Oregon, Washington, Idaho, western Canada, and southern Alaska |
Diet | Omnivore |
The rufous hummingbird, also known as “hummer” or the “mountain gem,” is a small bird that lives in western North America. It nests high up in trees and feeds on nectar from flowers.
31. Silky Anteater
Scientific Name | Cyclopes didactylus |
Type of Animal | Mammal |
Range | southern Mexico southward to Bolivia and Brazil |
Diet | Omnivore |
The silky anteater is a small, tree-dwelling mammal found in Central and South America. They are the only species of anteater that lives in trees. Silky anteaters eat insects and spiders, which they catch by licking them up with their long tongues.
Related Article: 25 Animals that Look Like Anteaters
32. Sloths
Scientific Name | Folivora |
Type of Animal | Mammal |
Range | Central and South America |
Diet | Herbivore |
The sloth is an arboreal mammal found mostly in Central America, South America, and Mexico. It is the slowest mammal on Earth, moving at an average speed of just two meters per minute. Sloths spend most of their time in trees, hanging from branches by their long claws.
33. Spider Monkey
Scientific Name | Ateles |
Type of Animal | Mammal |
Range | South America in areas north of the Amazon River |
Diet | Omnivore |
The spider monkey is a species of New World monkey that lives in the rainforest canopy (the top level of the forest). They are known for their long limbs and tails, which they use to help them balance on tree branches.
- Spotted Owl
- Squirrel Monkey
- Sugar Glider
- Sunda Flying Lemur
- Tarsier
- Tree Frog
- Tree Kangaroo
- Tree Porcupines
- Treehopper
- Wasps
- Western Gray Squirrel
- Western Scrub-Jay
- White Crowned Sparrow
- Woodpecker

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