The Rhinoceros Hornbill, Buceros rhinoceros, range from the peninsula of Malaysia (B. r. rhinoceros), Java (B. r. sylvestris) and Indonesia, on Sumatra (B. r. borneoensi). These hornbills inhabit dense lowland evergreen forest, hill dipterocarp forest and sections of logged forest at a density of 0.5-2.5 km≤/pair . The population of the Rhinoceros hornbill is in decline, except in a few reserves, with less than 500 individuals remaining in Java and less than 2,500 in Kalimantan.
The Malaysian state of Sarawak uses the Rhinoceros hornbill as an emblem and they are important in the principal Iban ritual, the gawi kenyalang, involving elaborate carving of effigies. Tail feathers have been and are still used in headdresses and decorative capes by the Bornean Dyaks and in the Kalimantan region. Beyond habitat preservation, one aspect of hornbill conservation includes the application of management practices within the habitat aimed directly at the hornbill species of concern.

Since 2001, the Wildlife Conservation Society, NY, has been collecting tail feathers from captive hornbills, including those held at the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden. These feathers will be collected and transferred to the Wildlife Conservation Society. These feathers are shipped to Sarawak, where officials distributed them to indigenous people for use in traditional headdresses and ceremonies.