A cardinal tetra, blue line over redA slim fish about 3 centimeters long: a shining blue line on the side, red below it. Upper Orinoco and Negro rivers.
A Bornean orangutan reaching between two trunksArms up to 1.5 meters long and a coarse reddish coat. The largest tree-living ape, in the canopy of Borneo.
A brown-throated sloth dangling by all four limbsA long oval on four hooks; a pale face with a dark stripe under the eyes. A three-toed sloth, rarely out of the canopy.
A Geoffroy's spider monkey hanging by its tailArms longer than its legs and a tail that can carry the whole animal. It keeps to the upper part of the forest.
A harpy eagle perched, double crest raisedA broad wedge body, a small pale head and two crest tufts. It nests and hunts in the emergent layer, above the canopy.
A keel-billed toucan, yellow bib and one huge billA black oval with a yellow neck and chest and one big bill. It feeds from mid-level up to the canopy.
A large flying fox asleep upside down, wings wrappedA teardrop shape hanging by its feet. This Southeast Asian bat eats only fruit, nectar and flowers.
Show all 60 animals (54 more)
Emergent and canopy, continued
A mantled howler mid-call, throat pushed outA hunched body, a round open mouth and a tail that grips. A hollow bone in the male's throat makes the call louder.
A Philippine eagle with its shaggy crestAn upright oval, a deep hooked bill and a mane of long brown feathers. It builds its nest on a tall emergent tree.
A Queen Alexandra's birdwing, wings spread flatTwo long forewings and two smaller hindwings. The largest butterfly in the world flies high in the canopy.
A scarlet macaw side on, long tail trailingAn oval body, a round head and a hooked bill. It spends nearly all its time high in the canopy.
An aye-aye tapping bark with one long fingerA lemur of Madagascar that keeps close to the canopy. It taps on wood, listens, then hooks out grubs with one finger.
An indri clinging upright to a trunkA black-and-white lemur of Madagascar with hardly any tail. Family groups move through the canopy and sing.
Wallace's flying frog in mid-glide, toes spreadA shiny green wedge with four wide feet held out. It lives high in the trees of Borneo and Sumatra and parachutes down.
Understory 15
A boa constrictor wrapped around a low limbA thick rope shape in two turns, with brown saddle marks along a paler back. Boas hunt in the understory.
A clouded leopard dozing on a bough, tail hangingA long body, a very long tail and cloud-shaped blotches. It rests in trees by day and hunts on the ground by night.
A flying dragon lizard gliding between trunksA slim lizard with a rounded flap of skin spread on each side. It waits on tree trunks for ants; Southeast Asia.
A glasswing perched, veins and dark borders onlyIts wings are transparent: leave the panels empty. This butterfly gathers in shaded rainforest in Central America.
A green tree python at rest, its head amid its loopsIt hangs a coil or two on a branch like a saddle. It lives in the trees, shrubs and bushes of New Guinea.
A Guianan cock-of-the-rock with its half-moon crestA plump body and a rounded crest on the head. The male is bright orange and displays on the ground under low perches.
A jaguar on a forest path, rosettes on its flankA long body, a big head and a thick tail. Its spots turn into rosettes on the sides. Jaguars hunt in the understory.
A leaf-tailed gecko flat against a stemA slender body, big eyes and a wide flat tail shaped like a leaf. It lives in the trees of Madagascar and nowhere else.
A long-billed hermit hovering at a flowerA small oval body, a long bill and blurred wings. A hummingbird of the understory, from Mexico to Peru.
A Menelaus blue morpho, upper side and undersideFour rounded wings, shining blue with black edges and brown underneath. The females keep to the forest understory.
A panther chameleon gripping a twigA leaf-shaped body, a long tail and feet that clamp narrow branches. A lizard of Madagascar; the males are the brighter.
A Philippine tarsier clinging to a slim stem, eyes wideA round head with two huge circles for eyes and a small upright body. It perches about 2 meters up in low, dense growth.
A pygmy marmoset gripping a trunkA round head, a small body and a tail. The smallest monkey in the world lives in the understory of the western Amazon.
An emerald boa's white zigzags, seen from aboveThe emerald tree boa of South America rests in loops hung over a branch: green, with white zigzags down the back.
An eyelash viper coiled on a twigA tight coil with a triangle head. Small raised scales above each eye look like lashes; its tail grips the twig.
Forest floor 16
A bongo antelope, pale stripes down its flanksA reddish-brown forest antelope of Africa with narrow pale stripes and long, slightly spiraled horns.
A giant anteater side on, tail like a broomA long tube snout, a low body, long front claws and a bushy tail. Unlike other anteaters it lives mostly on the ground.
A giant armadillo digging with one huge clawA dome of 11 to 13 hinged bands, a pale head and a sickle-shaped front claw. The largest armadillo, in South America.
A goliath birdeater at the mouth of its burrowTwo ovals and eight thick legs. The heaviest spider in the world lives in deep burrows in northern South America.
A gray-winged trumpeter walking, back humpedLike a long-necked, long-legged chicken with a humped back. A weak flyer that feeds on the ground north of the Amazon.
A Malayan tapir in black and whiteThe same barrel shape in two colors. The only tapir outside the Americas, from the Malay Peninsula to Sumatra.
A mandrill's face in red and blueA red line down the middle to a red nose, with grooved blue skin on each side. It lives mainly on the ground.
A South American tapir walking, ears edged in whiteA barrel body, short legs and a low crest down the neck. The largest land mammal of the Amazon.
A southern cassowary with its helmetA black oval on thick legs, a long neck and a horn-like casque. Flightless; it finds fallen fruit on the forest floor.
A strawberry poison-dart frog on a fallen leafA small wedge body and four slim legs. It lives mostly on the ground, in the leaf litter, from Nicaragua to Panama.
A western lowland gorilla walking on all foursShoulders higher than the hips and long arms. It is often on the ground in the forests of central Africa.
An African forest elephant, tusks pointing downStraight tusks that point at the ground. The smallest of the three living elephants, in West Africa and the Congo Basin.
An agouti sitting up with a seed in its pawsA bean-shaped body, a small head and slim legs. It eats fruit and seeds and stores seeds when there are plenty.
An azure dart frog with darker limbsThe blue poison dart frog of southern Suriname: bright blue, darker around the legs and belly. It lives on the ground.
An okapi browsing, long tongue curled around a leafThe giraffe's closest relative: a dark body and white-striped legs. It picks understory leaves in the Congo.
Leafcutter ants in single file under green sailsEach ant is three dots with a green sail above it. They carry the leaves to underground nests and grow fungus on them.
River and bank 16
A black caiman afloat, head and back showingA long flat head and a ridged back, dark greenish-black. The largest of the alligator family, in the rivers of Amazonia.
A capybara sitting on the bankA loaf-shaped body, a blunt muzzle, and eyes and ears near the top of the head. The largest living rodent.
A cardinal tetra, blue line over redA slim fish about 3 centimeters long: a shining blue line on the side, red below it. Upper Orinoco and Negro rivers.
A giant otter's head showing above the riverA sleek head with pale marks on the throat. The longest of the weasel family lives in family groups on rivers.
A green anaconda coiled at the water's edgeA very thick rope in a loose coil. The heaviest snake in the world: a South American boa, and not venomous.
A hoatzin on a branch over the waterA small head with a spiky rust-colored crest. Its chicks have claws on their wings; swamps of the Amazon and Orinoco.
A mata mata turtle on the river bottomA large, flat, triangular head with flaps of skin and a long tube for a snout.
A pink Amazon river dolphin rising for airA curved body and a rounded forehead. The adults turn pink, the males most of all.
A plumed basilisk running across the waterA bright green lizard with crests on its head and back. It lives by rainforest streams in Central America.
A proboscis monkey sitting over a riverA reddish-brown monkey with a very large nose and a long tail. It lives only on Borneo, along rivers and in mangroves.
A pygmy hippopotamus at the edge of a forest swampA small hippo: a barrel body, short legs and a round head. Forests and swamps of West Africa, mostly Liberia.
A red-bellied piranha side onA deep oval body with a red belly. A freshwater fish of the Amazon basin that also eats insects, worms and plants.
An Amazon kingfisher, shaggy crest and heavy billA big head, a shaggy crest and a long heavy bill. A water kingfisher of the lowland American tropics.
An Amazonian manatee with its paddle tailA long potato shape, two flippers and a flat round paddle for a tail. The smallest manatee, with a white chest patch.
An arapaima gliding under the surfaceA very long body, up to 3 meters: one of the largest freshwater fish. Its Brazilian name, pirarucu, means red fish.
An electric eel on the river bedOne long ribbon with a blunt head. Despite its name it is not a true eel but a knifefish.
How this list was compiled: Original list written for Draw This Next on 2026-10-02: 60 rainforest animals to draw, sorted by the layer of the forest each lives in (emergent and canopy, understory, forest floor) with a fourth group for the river and its banks, each marked easy, medium or hard. The drawing hints are our own. The four layers, and the kinds of animal found in each, were read on 2026-10-02 in the English Wikipedia article Rainforest (en.wikipedia.org; text free to reuse under CC BY-SA 4.0), and the fact in each hint was read the same day in the animal's own article: Harpy eagle, Philippine eagle, Scarlet macaw, Keel-billed toucan, Brown-throated sloth, Mantled howler, Geoffroy's spider monkey, Bornean orangutan, Indri, Aye-aye, Queen Alexandra's birdwing, Wallace's flying frog, Large flying fox, Jaguar, Emerald tree boa, Boa constrictor, Eyelash viper, Green tree python, Morpho menelaus, Greta oto, Pygmy marmoset, Long-billed hermit, Philippine tarsier, Panther chameleon, Uroplatus phantasticus, Guianan cock-of-the-rock, Clouded leopard, Draco volans, South American tapir, Malayan tapir, Giant anteater, Leafcutter ant, Okapi, Southern cassowary, Central American agouti, Giant armadillo, Goliath birdeater, Western lowland gorilla, African forest elephant, Mandrill, Bongo (antelope), Grey-winged trumpeter, Strawberry poison-dart frog, Blue poison dart frog, Black caiman, Capybara, Giant otter, Amazon river dolphin, Green anaconda, Red-bellied piranha, Arapaima, Electric eel, Amazonian manatee, Hoatzin, Plumed basilisk, Mata mata, Proboscis monkey, Pygmy hippopotamus, Cardinal tetra, Amazon kingfisher. An animal stands under the layer its own article names. Where that article names none, it stands where the article Rainforest puts its kind: bats with the emergent layer and canopy; snakes, lizards, jaguars and other cats, and insects in the understory. River and bank is not one of the four layers: it holds the animals that live in or beside the water. Licence: own work
How it works
Sixty rainforest animals to draw, sorted by the layer of the forest each lives in. Every hint carries a checked fact, and most give the shapes to start from. The page opens on the 24 easy ones.
Read the full guide
Four layers and a river
A rainforest is drawn from the top down. The emergent trees and the canopy hold eagles, macaws, sloths and monkeys. The understory, in the shade below, holds snakes, lizards, butterflies and cats. The forest floor has tapirs, anteaters and ants. Layer, under More filters, has a fourth choice for the river and its banks.
For a poster of the layers
Draw one tall tree and mark the layers on its trunk, then place an animal or two in each. Choose Any level under the button for all 60, from a pygmy marmoset gripping a trunk to a jaguar on a forest path.
Name each animal under its drawing; the list gives the full name.
Questions and answers
What is the easiest rainforest animal to draw?
One built from an oval or two: a capybara sitting on the bank is a loaf shape with a blunt muzzle, and a scarlet macaw side on is an oval, a round head and a long tail. Easy holds 24.
What animals live in the rainforest canopy?
On this list: the scarlet macaw, the keel-billed toucan, the brown-throated sloth, howler and spider monkeys, the Bornean orangutan, the indri and the aye-aye. The harpy eagle and the Philippine eagle use the emergent trees that stand above the canopy.
What animals live on the rainforest floor?
Tapirs, the giant anteater, the okapi, the southern cassowary, the giant armadillo, leafcutter ants and poison dart frogs, among others. Only about 2 percent of the sunlight reaches the floor, so little grows there away from rivers and clearings.
What are the four layers of a rainforest?
From the top: the emergent layer, a few very tall trees above the rest; the canopy, an almost unbroken roof of treetops; the understory, between canopy and ground; and the forest floor.