In the Noah's Ark story, Noah first sent out a raven after the floodwaters began to recede.
Genesis 8:6–7 says that 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 later sent out a dove to test whether the ground was becoming habitable, making the raven the first bird named in this sequence.
The dove receives more attention in popular retellings because it returns with a freshly plucked olive leaf. That later scene became a widely recognized symbol of peace and the end of danger. However, the biblical narrative clearly places the raven before the dove.
The account does not identify the raven as carrying a message or branch. Its role is observational: its repeated flight gave Noah information about the state of the land. The raven and dove episodes together show Noah checking conditions gradually rather than leaving the ark immediately.