Just before the revelation at Sinai, God instructs Moses to tell the Israelites, “Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bear you on eagles’ wings, and brought you unto myself” (Exodus 19:4). Except, argues Natan Slifkin, it is likely that the bird mentioned here is not an eagle at all—as nearly every translation has it—but a vulture, most likely the griffon vulture. This reading puts the verse in a new perspective:
If referring to a griffon vulture, [this verse, along with Deuteronomy 32:11, which contains a similar image], shows that the vulture is regarded by the Torah very differently from how it is perceived in contemporary Western culture. While people today view the vulture in a negative light, the Torah presents it as an example of a loving and caring parent. [This attitude in fact reflects] the vulture’s parenting process. Female griffon vultures usually lay one egg, which both parents incubate for an unusually long period of around seven weeks until it hatches. The young are slow to develop and do not leave the nest until three or four months of age. The long devotion of the vulture to its young symbolizes God’s deep dedication to the Jewish people.
Read more on Rationalist Judaism: http://www.rationalistjudaism.com/2016/02/on-eagles-wings.html