According to Genesis, Noah first sent out a raven after the Flood.
Genesis 8:6–7 says that after forty days Noah opened the window and sent out a raven. The raven flew back and forth until the waters dried from the earth. Noah then sent a dove to investigate the condition of the land. The dove’s later return with an olive leaf is a separate and more widely remembered episode.
This sequence creates a common mix-up: many people recall the dove as the first bird, but Genesis places the raven first. The two birds serve different roles in the narrative. The raven’s movements are described briefly, while the dove is sent repeatedly and provides the sign that vegetation has reappeared.
The passage does not say that Noah trained the birds or identify their species beyond the ordinary terms “raven” and “dove.” Later art and popular retellings often emphasize the dove because it became a symbol of peace and hope. Within Genesis’s order, however, the raven clearly comes first.