In the Noah's Ark story, a dove first returned with a freshly plucked olive leaf.
Genesis 8 describes Noah sending birds from the Ark to learn whether the floodwaters had receded. He first sent a raven, which went back and forth. Noah then sent a dove, but it initially found nowhere to rest and returned. After waiting seven days, he sent the dove again, and it came back in the evening with a freshly plucked olive leaf.
The leaf showed that vegetation was visible above the retreating waters. A final release of the dove produced no return, which Noah understood as evidence that the land was becoming habitable. The story therefore uses the bird's behavior as a practical sign within the narrative.
The dove and olive branch later became widely recognized symbols of peace, although Genesis's immediate context concerns the end of the flood and the return of dry land.