If it sees birds when flying, a hunting hawk does not fly directly to them but instead circles around to available trees and bushes often perching for a few moments before launching its attack. If birds become aware of it, the hawk will tend to quickly gain height in hopes of intercepting some prey. It was found compared to some other North American raptors who are more likely to watch for prey on the ground and/or in the open, that the Cooper's hawk had a rather enlarged binocular field. During hunts, these hawks may suddenly alight when detecting an available mammal. Sometimes, Cooper's hawks will engage in tandem hunts with one dashing around after the prey while another waits on the other side of a tree trunk or wooded thicket. Many birds are caught when they inadvertently fly around a tree where a hawk is inconspicuously perched. Young Cooper's are impetuous about crashing into bushes after prey, sometimes even into thorny cover such as barberries, whereas adults are said to be more "prudent". They may chase prey into cover or from bush to bush. The first instance of non-piratical scavenging on carrion was recorded when a Cooper's hawk was seen eating at a white-tailed deer ("Odocoileus virginianus") carcass.