According to Genesis, Noah first sent a raven from the Ark to test the receding waters.
Genesis 8 says Noah opened the ark’s window and sent out a raven. The bird flew back and forth until the waters had dried from the earth. Noah then sent a dove on separate occasions to learn whether the floodwater had receded.
The dove’s return with a freshly plucked olive leaf is the scene most often remembered, so the raven is frequently overlooked. In the narrative, however, the raven comes first and the dove follows as another test of the landscape.
The two birds have also acquired different symbolic associations in later art and literature. Those later meanings should not obscure the sequence in Genesis: raven first, dove afterward.