According to Genesis, Noah released a raven first to test the waters after the Flood.
Genesis 8:7 records Noah sending out a raven after the Ark came to rest and the waters began to recede. The bird flew back and forth until the waters dried up from the earth. Noah then used a dove in a series of further tests.
The raven episode is sometimes omitted or compressed in children’s retellings, which often begin with the dove and its olive leaf. That popular version highlights the most memorable symbol but does not preserve the full order in Genesis.
The dove’s flights provide more specific signs: it first returns without a leaf, later returns with an olive leaf, and finally does not return. The initial raven and the later dove therefore form a sequence rather than two competing versions of the same event within the Genesis account.