In the Genesis account of Noah’s Ark, Noah first released a raven after the waters receded.
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 find out whether the water had gone down from the ground.
The raven and dove serve different narrative roles. The raven’s repeated flight is described first, while the dove’s returns provide a more recognizable sequence of signs. On its first return, the dove found no place to rest and came back to Noah. A later release brought back a freshly plucked olive leaf, and a final release did not bring the dove back.
A common mix-up is to answer “dove,” because the dove and olive leaf are the best-known images associated with the story. In the order given by Genesis, however, the raven is the first bird Noah sends out.