That stupid scene.
The first time Gandalf did the moth thing in Lord of the Rings it seemed like a clever improvisation—he was trapped atop a tower with no contact with the outside world and managed to bewitch a small flying creature in the hopes that it might carry his plight far enough to get help from the only ones in Middle Earth who could rescue him. I never got the impression that “send a moth!” was the default way to contact the eagles.
Also, it took time for the eagles to get the message after Gandalf released the moth from the tower; he seemed to be stranded up there for days or possibly weeks after sending out the SOS. Which makes sense, because a moth isn’t going to traverse dozens or hundreds of miles quickly (if it survives the trek at all).
When Gandalf first summoned the eagles from atop a burning tree in The Hobbit it seemed like they showed up within minutes. What the hell kind of moth travels that fast? And if they were so close to the eagles why didn’t any of the eagles spot a bunch of dwarves and a wizard in a burning tree?
