Ok so the Bird is shorter on the front, longer chain stays? Bird more middle of the road?
Not really, it’s disgustingly short. As short as an On One. The Nukeproof isn’t even that long compared to some of the newer bikes.
I think the Bird has the same length chainstays as well. Seriously – geo first, spec second. For 1300 quid you get a better damped fork on the Bird, on the lower specced scout you get a fork you could later upgrade with an avalanche damper or just replace with a 350 quid Pike RC from Germany. You can’t upgrade geometry.
The Scout is slacker as well. These days a full suspension trail bike usually has around a 67 degree head angle, when sagged they are about 66.5. When you sag a hardtail the bike gets steeper because you are only sagging the fork, so when sagged the Scout will be around 67 degrees whilst the bird will end up a whopping 68-69 degrees. That’s steep compared to your run of the mill full suss trail bike.
You could run an angleset on the Bird though.
I’d still run with the Nukeproof IMO. Also, the raw frame is a work of art.