In the Genesis account, Noah sent out a dove after the raven from the ark.
Genesis 8 describes Noah using the dove to test whether the floodwaters had receded from the earth. On its first flight, the dove found no resting place and returned. Noah waited seven days and sent it out again; this time it came back with a freshly plucked olive leaf.
That olive leaf became a widely recognized symbol of peace and renewal, although Genesis presents it first as practical evidence that vegetation had emerged. Noah waited another seven days before releasing the dove a third time. It did not return, suggesting that the surface was now suitable for the birds to remain outside.
The dove is often mistakenly treated as the first bird in the story, but Genesis places the raven before it. The narrative’s sequence is therefore raven, dove, dove again, and finally the dove’s last release.