In Genesis, the first thing Noah sent out through the Ark’s window was a raven.
Genesis 8:6–7 says Noah opened the window after forty days and sent out a raven. The bird went back and forth until the waters had dried from the earth. Noah then sent a dove to investigate whether the surface had become suitable for life outside the Ark.
The sequence matters because retellings often begin with the dove, whose olive leaf became the most famous image from the story. In the biblical order, however, the raven comes first and the dove follows. The two birds are not described as being released at the same time.
This question is distinct from asking which bird returned with an olive leaf: that event involved the dove. The first bird sent through the window was the raven, while the later dove tests provided more recognizable signs of dry land.