In the Babylonian flood story preserved in the Epic of Gilgamesh, a dove is released first.
In Tablet XI, Utnapishtim releases birds after the flood to determine whether the waters have receded. The dove goes out and returns because it finds no place to land. He then releases a swallow, which also returns, and finally a raven, which does not return.
This sequence resembles the bird episode in Genesis, but the order and details are not identical. Genesis describes Noah sending a raven first and later sending a dove, while the Gilgamesh account gives the dove the first position in its sequence.
Comparing the stories is useful because both belong to ancient Near Eastern flood-literature traditions, yet they preserve distinct characters, divine settings, and narrative details. Similarity does not make every detail interchangeable.