What animal did Noah send first from the Ark in Genesis 8?

In Genesis 8, Noah first sent a raven from the Ark.

After the waters began to recede, Genesis says Noah opened the window of the ark and sent out a raven. The bird went to and fro until the waters dried from the earth. Noah then sent a dove, beginning the sequence that produced the famous olive-leaf sign.

The order matters because popular retellings often mention only the dove. The raven is the first bird in the biblical account, while the dove is sent afterward on three occasions. The first dove flight ends with the bird returning because it finds no place to rest; the second returns with an olive leaf; and the third does not return.

The passage does not explain why Noah chose a raven first or describe the bird’s route in modern ornithological terms. It simply records the actions as part of Noah’s effort to determine whether dry land had appeared. The direct answer is therefore the raven, not the dove associated with the later olive leaf.