According to Genesis, a dove brought Noah an olive leaf after the floodwaters receded.
Genesis 8 describes Noah sending birds from the Ark to determine whether the waters had fallen. Noah first released a raven, which flew back and forth. He then sent a dove, but it initially found nowhere to land and returned to him.
Seven days later, Noah sent the dove again. It came back with a freshly plucked olive leaf, showing that vegetation had reappeared. After another seven days, Noah released the dove once more, and it did not return. The olive branch therefore became an enduring symbol of peace and hope.
The account names a dove and an olive leaf, not a generic bird carrying a branch. The raven is a separate bird in the same passage, so answers that confuse the two are incorrect. The story is found in Genesis chapters 8, with closely related flood traditions elsewhere in the ancient Near East.