Hawk - The sole survivor of a race of winged humanoids that inhabited the planet Earth in ages past on the sci-fi series BUCK ROGERS IN THE 25TH CENTURY/NBC/1979-81.

As the race of "humans" grew in size, they hunted the Bird People. In a desperate attempt to save their civilization these feathered creatures took to the stars. Generations of fear and hiding had bred out their ability to fly (their wings disappeared) but their desire to fly was still retained.

Hawk (Thom Christopher) satisfied this urge for flight by soaring in a sleek metallic craft that resembled a hawk with outstretched wings whose retractable landing gears were the shape of fierce talons.

The Valley of the Eagles on the planet Throm had been the last outpost of the Bird People, but still the hunters came and destroyed the remnants of his race.

Victims of the holocaust included his mate, Koori (played by Barbara Lubna). Enraged, Hawk took to the skies in his taloned spacecraft and began a spree of terror to avenge the death of his people.

Hawk and Koori

Only after Hawk met the Earthman Buck Rogers (Gil Gerard) did he realize that all humans were not his enemy. Buck and Hawk were united in one common bond. Both were sole survivors.

Maki-Maki, the winged God of the Bird people can still be found in the mammoth stone carvings of Easter Island.

TRIVIA NOTE: In the 1930's, a similar space hero in the genre of  Buck Rogers was an action adventurer known as Flash Gordon (played by Buster Crabbe). During his travels, Flash Gordon encountered an alien race of  Hawk Men. Here is an image.

In later years, Buster Crabbe (who also played the role of Buck Rogers in the 1939 Buck Rogers serial) appeared on an episode of the 1970s BUCK ROGERS IN THE 25TH CENTURY as Brigadier Gordon, a starfighter pilot who came to the aid of Captain Buck Rogers (Gil Gerard) and Colonel Wilma Deering (Erin Gray) in the episode "Planet of the Slave Girls."

• Buck Rogers in the 25th Century (IMDb)