47 Animals that live in Trees (A to Z List +Pictures)

Animals that live in Trees

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 NameTurdus migratorius
Type of AnimalBird
RangeCanada
DietOmnivore

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 NameAnthophila
Type of AnimalInsect
RangeWorldwide
DietOmnivore

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 NameTrichosurus vulpecula
Type of AnimalMammal
RangeAustralia
DietHerbivore

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 NameChamaeleonidae
Type of AnimalReptile
RangeWorldwide
DietOmnivore

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 NameParidae
Type of AnimalBird
RangeAlaska and Canada
DietOmnivore

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 NameJunco hyemalis
Type of AnimalBird
RangeCanada
DietOmnivore

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 NameSciurus carolinensis
Type of AnimalMammal
RangeCanada
DietOmnivore

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 NameDermoptera
Type of AnimalMammal
RangeSoutheast Asia
DietHerbivore

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 NamePteropodidae
Type of AnimalMammal
RangeAfrica, Asia, Europe, and Australia
DietHerbivore

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 NameGekkonidae
Type of AnimalReptile
RangeWorldwide
DietCarnivore

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 NameGenetta
Type of AnimalMammal
RangeAfrica
DietOmnivore

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 NameAiluropoda melanoleuca
Type of AnimalMammal
RangeChina
DietHerbivore

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 NameHylobatidae
Type of AnimalMammal
RangeSoutheast Asia
DietOmnivore

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 NamePetauroides volans
Type of AnimalMammal
Rangethe eastern coast of the Australian
DietHerbivore

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 NameDendroaspis angusticeps
Type of AnimalReptile
RangeWest Africa
DietCarnivore

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 NameMorelia viridis
Type of AnimalReptile
RangeAustralia, New Guinea, and eastern Indonesia
DietCarnivore

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 NamePteropus poliocephalus
Type of AnimalMammal
RangeAustralia
DietHerbivore

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 NameOphisthocomus hoazin
Type of AnimalBird
RangeAmazon and Orinoco river basins
DietHerbivore

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 NameHaemorhous mexicanus
Type of AnimalBird
Rangewestern North America
DietHerbivore

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 NameAlouatta
Type of AnimalMammal
Rangesouthern Brazil, Paraguay, eastern Bolivia, and northern Argentina
DietOmnivore

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 NameHyla intermedia
Type of AnimalReptile
RangeItaly, Slovenia, Switzerland, and possibly San Marino
DietCarnivore

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 NamePotos flavus
Type of AnimalMammal
RangeCentral and South America
DietOmnivore

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 NamePhascolarctos cinereus
Type of AnimalMammal
RangeAustralia
DietHerbivore

The Koala lives in Australia and eats mostly eucalyptus leaves. They sleep most of the day and hang out in trees.

24. Microbat

Scientific NameMicrochiroptera
Type of AnimalMammal
Rangeworldwide except in the Arctic and Antarctic
DietHerbivores, 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 NameNeovison vison
Type of AnimalMammal
RangeNorth America
DietCarnivore

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 NameSitta
Type of AnimalBird
RangeNorthern Hemisphere
DietHerbivore

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 NamePongo
Type of AnimalMammal
RangeBorneo
DietOmnivore

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 NameProcyon lotor
Type of AnimalMammal
RangeNorth America
DietOmnivore

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 NameColaptes auratus
Type of AnimalBird
Rangenorthern British Columbia through most of the Canadian prairies and south into Mexico
DietOmnivore

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 NameSelasphorus rufus
Type of AnimalBird
RangeOregon, Washington, Idaho, western Canada, and southern Alaska
DietOmnivore

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 NameCyclopes didactylus
Type of AnimalMammal
Rangesouthern Mexico southward to Bolivia and Brazil
DietOmnivore

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 NameFolivora
Type of AnimalMammal
RangeCentral and South America
DietHerbivore

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 NameAteles
Type of AnimalMammal
RangeSouth America in areas north of the Amazon River
DietOmnivore

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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