In Genesis, the first bird Noah sent after the Flood waters began to recede was a raven.
The sequence appears in Genesis 8. Noah first released a raven, which flew back and forth until the waters dried. He then released a dove to test whether the ground had become visible and safe.
This order is an easy detail to miss because later retellings focus on the dove's return with an olive leaf. The dove's action became a widely recognized symbol of peace and renewed life, while the raven is less prominent in art, teaching, and popular summaries.
Genesis records three releases involving the dove: it first returned, then came back with an olive leaf, and finally did not return. Those events are separate from the initial raven release and create a sequence rather than two interchangeable bird episodes.