In Genesis, the first bird Noah sent out from the Ark was a raven.
Genesis 8:7 says Noah sent out a raven after the waters began to recede. The raven went back and forth until the waters had dried from the earth. Genesis then describes Noah sending a dove, which is the bird more strongly associated with the Ark in popular retellings.
The raven and dove serve different moments in the account. The dove is sent three times in the following verses, and on its second flight it returns with an olive leaf—a fact often remembered as the central bird episode.
Because the dove is more famous, quizzes sometimes incorrectly identify it as the first bird. In the Genesis sequence, the raven comes first.