How many times did Noah send a dove from the Ark in the Genesis flood story?

Noah sent a dove from the Ark three times in the Genesis flood story.

Genesis 8 describes Noah first sending a dove to see whether the waters had subsided. It returned because it found no place to rest. After waiting seven days, Noah sent it again, and the dove returned with a freshly plucked olive leaf. After another seven-day interval, he sent it a third time, and it did not return.

The dove’s second flight is the episode most often remembered because of the olive leaf. That image is distinct from the rainbow, which Genesis later associates with God’s covenant after Noah leaves the ark.

The sequence is also separate from the earlier raven mentioned in the same chapter. Because the text gives repeated bird releases, summaries sometimes say Noah “sent out a dove” without counting them. Reading the full sequence yields three dove flights.