In Genesis, Noah first sent out a raven after the floodwaters began to fall.
Genesis 8 says Noah opened the Ark's window and sent out a raven. The bird flew back and forth until the waters had dried from the earth. Noah then sent a dove to determine whether the floodwater had receded from the ground.
The raven and dove serve different narrative functions. The raven's repeated flight is described briefly, while the dove returns because it initially finds nowhere to rest. On a later flight, the dove returns with a freshly plucked olive leaf, giving Noah evidence that vegetation has reappeared. A final release of the dove produces no return, signaling that the land is becoming habitable.
Popular retellings sometimes mention only the dove and omit the raven. In the Genesis sequence, however, the raven is explicitly the first bird released. The olive branch later became a widely recognized symbol of peace, although Genesis specifically describes an olive leaf.