In the Genesis story of Noah's Ark, what bird first returned with evidence that land had reappeared?
Answer
A dove with an olive leaf
In the Genesis story of Noah's Ark, a dove returned with an olive leaf as evidence that land had reappeared.
After the Flood waters began to recede, Noah first sent out a raven. He then sent a dove to test whether the waters had withdrawn from the Earth's surface. The dove returned because it found nowhere to rest. Noah waited seven days and sent it out again; this time it came back in the evening carrying a freshly plucked olive leaf.
A final release of the dove produced no return, signaling that the land was becoming habitable. The olive branch later became a widely recognized symbol of peace, although the Genesis passage itself uses it as evidence in a practical test of the changing landscape. The raven and the dove are distinct stages in the episode.