According to Genesis, Noah first sent out a raven from the Ark. Genesis 8:7 says Noah sent the raven after the waters began to decrease. The raven went back and forth until the waters had dried from the earth.
After the raven, Noah sent out a dove to test whether the floodwaters had receded from the ground. The dove returned because it found no place to rest, and Noah sent it again later. On its second return, it carried a freshly plucked olive leaf, giving Noah evidence that the waters had fallen. A later release of the dove produced no return.
The raven is sometimes overlooked because the dove and olive leaf have become the most familiar symbols connected with the Ark story. The biblical sequence is nevertheless clear: raven first, then dove. The raven passage does not say that it brought Noah an object or message; that detail belongs to the dove’s later flight.