In Genesis, what did Noah use to determine whether the Flood waters had receded from the earth?

In Genesis, Noah used a raven and a dove to determine whether the Flood waters had receded.

Genesis 8 says Noah first sent out a raven, which went back and forth. He then sent a dove to see whether the waters had subsided. The dove initially found nowhere to rest, later returned with an olive leaf, and was sent out once more before Noah removed the Ark’s covering.

The answer includes both birds because the passage records both as part of Noah’s testing. It is not simply “the dove,” although the dove’s olive leaf is the most famous image from this sequence.

Genesis does not say that Noah used the birds to locate a particular mountain or city. Their role was to provide signs about the condition of the land and the retreat of the waters.