Juvenile hornbills resemble adults of the same sex, but lack the ridges at the base of the upper beak.

[7] The rufous-necked hornbill has the northernmost distribution ranging from Northeast India, central Bhutan to western Thailand and northwestern Vietnam.

These hornbill communities move between one forest to another depending on seasonally to forage from fruiting trees that change with local conditions.

[3] Describing the egg, Hume (1889) states:[11] Already listed in CITES Appendices I, the species is vulnerable but occurs in a number of protected areas in India, China, Thailand and Bhutan.

[3] Due to increased information coming in about range and extent, it has been suggested that the rufous-necked hornbill be downgraded from IUCN status "Vulnerable" to "Near Threatened".

[10][12] The rufous-necked hornbill occurs in Sanskrit literature under the epithet vārdhrīnasa, a term which at times also has been used to refer to other Bucerotidae.