In Genesis’s Flood story, the dove brought Noah an olive leaf on its second flight from the Ark.
Genesis 8:10–11 says Noah waited seven days before sending the dove out again. This time the dove returned in the evening with a freshly plucked olive leaf in its beak. Noah understood that the waters had receded from the earth’s surface.
The episode is the source of the widely recognized image of a dove carrying an olive branch or leaf as a sign of peace and hope. Genesis specifically says “olive leaf,” while later artistic and cultural traditions often depict a larger branch. The biblical text does not say that the bird found a fully restored landscape; it provides a sign that vegetation was emerging above the retreating waters.
This was the dove’s second recorded flight. On a later release, the dove did not return, showing Noah that the land was becoming suitable for life outside the Ark.