In Genesis, Noah first sent a raven from the Ark after the floodwaters began to recede. Genesis 8:7 says the raven went back and forth until the waters had dried from the earth. Noah then sent a dove on separate occasions to test whether the ground was becoming habitable.
The raven and dove serve different narrative roles. The raven is the first bird mentioned in the post-flood search, while the dove returns once with no resting place, returns later with a freshly plucked olive leaf, and finally does not return. The olive leaf becomes a widely recognized symbol of peace and renewal.
Many retellings remember only the dove, because it is connected with the olive leaf and is visually prominent in art. That makes the raven an especially common point of confusion. Genesis does not say that Noah sent an eagle or sparrow in this episode, and the sequence is specifically raven first, followed by the dove.