In Genesis, Noah released a dove that returned with a freshly plucked olive leaf.
After the Flood waters began to recede, Noah sent out a dove to test whether the earth’s surface had become visible. The dove first returned because it found no place to rest, but on a later flight it came back carrying an olive leaf.
The olive leaf showed Noah that the waters had fallen enough for vegetation to reappear. When Noah sent the dove again and it did not return, he understood that the land was becoming habitable.
The image of the dove and olive branch later became a widely recognized symbol of peace. In the Genesis passage, its immediate narrative function is more specific: it reports the changing condition of the flooded world.