In the Genesis account of Noah’s Ark, Noah first released a raven after the rain stopped.
Genesis 8 describes Noah waiting as the Flood waters receded. He opened the ark’s window and sent out a raven, which went back and forth until the waters had dried from the earth. The passage then describes a dove being sent out on repeated tests.
The raven is therefore distinct from the better-known dove. The dove first returned because it found nowhere to rest, and on a later release it came back with a freshly plucked olive leaf. A final release of the dove preceded its failure to return.
Artists and popular retellings often emphasize the dove and olive leaf, so the raven can be overlooked. In the biblical sequence, however, the raven is explicitly named as the first bird Noah sent out.