Birds

Borneo is home to many spectacular birds, notably eight species of hornbills, which can be heard in the most pristine forests of the island.

Hornbills are of considerable cultural importance and abstract forms of their beaks can be found on many Dayak motifs. Five of the 8 species are listed as Near Threatened on IUCN's Red List.

The two large hornbills, the rhinoceros hornbill and the helmeted hornbill, are declining as they have been affected by the selective removal of large nesting trees. Although these long-lived birds often persist in logged-over forests for many years, they do not breed if there are no suitable cavities in large trees.

Some thirty bird species are montane endemics, which means that these species can be found only on the higher summits of the mountains of the Heart of Borneo.