Malaysia's tropical rainforest animals flourish in the lush habitats of the tropic zone.

These diverse lowland and hill forests, mangrove swamps, mountaintops, rivers and wetlands, peatlands, limestone outcrops and other ecosystems swarm with wildlife in every nook and cranny.

This habitat variety leads to animal abundance as species rely on different plants and prey or occupy different levels of the rainforest - forest floor to forest canopy.

Jungle animals adapt to food availability; some mammals forage during the day, while others hunt at night.

While birds and mega-fauna (tigers, elephants, leopards, tapirs) get most of the attention, remember the small stuff (stick insects, flying lizards, tree frogs, forest geckos) is just as interesting. Enjoy finding the leaf-mimic Malayan horned frog as much as sighting rhinoceros hornbills in flight.

So what kind of wildlife can you expect to see or hear on your next jungle escape?

• Take a pair of binoculars to view a sample of Malaysia's incredible birds. From majestic raptors and sluggish hornbills to flittering flycatchers and flowerpeckers, the choices are plentiful.
• Hear the canopy thrashing of rainforest monkeys like the long-tailed macaque, the grunts of the white-handed gibbon or observe the ultra-orange infants of silvered leaf monkeys (also known as langurs).
• Forest-dwelling geckos hang out on trees and rocks chasing insects and some with frilly body and tail fringes even parachute from tree to tree.
• With over 150 species, its hard not to see frogs or toads. Tree frogs perch on arched branches, others like the giant Malayan Toad prefer streams and rivers and rock frogs escape by skipping across fast-flowing water.
• Most rainforest snakes are non-poisonous. Keep an eye out for the yellow-banded mangrove snake, the large reticulated python or the colorful arboreal paradise tree snake.

Most tropical rainforest animals evolve to be hidden, not seen. The jungle is full of surprises because animals in the rainforest use natural color and camouflage to avoid detection among leaves, trees and other vegetation.

Wildlife observation takes a bit of practice, so be patient, alert and savor all wild sightings in the jungle.

Tropical Rainforest Animals: Bountiful Rainforest Birds

Birdwatchers travel from afar to observe the bounty of Malaysian bird life.

Songbirds, waterbirds, raptors, and hornbills thrive in the wetland and rainforest biomes throughout the country. Even migratory birds from the northern hemisphere fly in to winter in the tropic air.

Freshwater ponds, mudflats and mangrove forests offer refuge to herons and egrets. These waders use their long legs to walk in shallow swamps and long necks and pointed beaks to feed on fish. Kuala Selangor Nature Park and Kuala Gula Bird Sanctuary are two good places to start your passion for birdwatching.

For most trekkers, hornbills fly high on the list of birds to see. All ten species occur in Peninsular Malaysia and are easily identified by their size, long tails and large bills adorned with helmet-like structures called casques.

Make an escape plan to go to Lake Temengor, where thousands of wreathed hornbills flock to nesting sites.

Go out with just a pair of birdwatching binoculars or join the Malaysian Nature Society outings to find more species and habitats.

Tropical Rainforest Animals: Rainforest Mammals

From enormous Asian elephants to timid treeshrews, rainforest mammals make the jungle a special place.

Some mammals, such as the Malayan tiger and tapir, are too rare to be seen, but monkeys, flying lemurs, smooth otters, giant squirrels, flying foxes and wild pigs are often sighted.

During the day primates forage on fruit and leaves, while at night civets scurry about on tropical tree limbs to find food. So knowing when to look for certain mammals is just as important as where.

Sometimes you can get lucky enough to see one of the smaller cat species - clouded leopard, golden cat or leopard cat - hidden among the thick jungle vegetation. In reality, most mammals are either forest bats or rats, so remember the odds when trying to watch for bigger wildlife.

First increase your powers of observation and then improve your chances to see mammals at Lake Temengor, Kenong Rimba and other prime jungle habitats.

Tropical Rainforest Animals: Spectacular Lizard Species

Lizards act like scardy-cats.

Except for macho monitor lizards, most of these narrow-bodied, scaly animals prefer to jump off the underbrush into steams, flee trees by flight or scamper lickety-split into the landscape. Others just shift around tree trunks pretending to be unnoticed.

Malaysia's lizards include geckos, flying and terrestrial agamids, skinks and the well-known and large water and clouded monitors. Lizards are everywhere. Everyone knows the fidgety house gecko, but what about seeing a whopping foot-long forest gecko!

Agamid lizards are some of the coolest tropical rainforest animals. Colorful, cryptic and more common than you realize, these tree-dwelling reptiles turn different shades of green to yellow to dark gray when mating or stressed.

Flying lizards flip out their flag-like throat skin folds to show-off to the opposite sex or just ward off male competitors. And for extra evolutionary points, Draco species glide to nearby tree trunks using a membrane wing attached by flexible ribs to its mid-section.

Tropical Rainforest Animals: Superb Snake Species

Just like sharks, snakes suffer from bad press.

Most rainforest snakes are non-poisonous, but do you know which ones are not? Pit vipers, cobras, coral snakes and kraits are the scary ones.

There are roughly 20 poisonous species.

Try to cherish encounters with the nearly 150 other snakes found in jungle habitats, wetlands, rice paddies, mangroves and peat swamps. Watch the amazing cantilevered movement of whip snakes cruising through the forest understory and be in awe.

Of course the reticulated python deserves special mention since it's one of the largest snakes in the world.

Play it safe and observe snakes from a distance, never handle an unidentified species and stay - don't walk away - to enjoy the spectacle.

Tropical Rainforest Animals: Wild Frog Frenzy

A day in the rainforest without frog sounds means it's dry and hot.

Living for liquid refreshment, Malaysia's frog species inhabit seaside swamps to mossy montane forests.

Listen for the cacophony of noise emanating from small pools and rain-swelled rivulets.

Adding to the aerial fauna of the jungle, Wallace's flying frog forages in the forest canopy and escapes predators with a flying leap. With webbed membranes on all four limbs, they parachute to safety with these built-in sails.

Evolution is tricky. The spiny wart frog hides out in tree-holes and wears bumpy, brown skin that matches the trunk bark of its tropical home. Other frogs use pitcher plants to raise their tadpoles; while other species attach themselves to rocks to keep from washing away.

Go check out the nearest frog habitat and hope for a tropic shower.

Tropical Rainforest Animals: Resources and Information