In Genesis, a dove returns to Noah with a freshly plucked olive leaf after the flood. Noah first sends out a raven, and later sends a dove to test whether the waters have receded from the earth.
The dove initially finds no place to rest and returns. After seven days, Noah sends it out again, and it comes back with an olive leaf. A further seven days later, the dove does not return, signaling that land is becoming available. The episode occurs in Genesis 8.
The olive branch later became a widely recognized symbol of peace, although its modern symbolism draws on many traditions beyond the Ark story. The biblical passage itself uses the leaf as evidence that the floodwaters are falling. A common error is to remember only the raven or to reverse the birds’ order: Genesis names the raven first and the dove as the bird that returns with the leaf.