A dove returned to Noah carrying a freshly plucked olive leaf in the biblical Ark story.
Genesis 8 describes Noah sending a dove after the floodwaters had begun to decline. The dove initially returns because it cannot find a resting place. When Noah sends it again, it comes back in the evening with an olive leaf, showing that vegetation is reappearing above the waters.
Noah sends the dove a third time, and it does not return. In the narrative, that absence indicates that the earth has become sufficiently dry for the birds and people to leave the ark. The dove’s return with an olive leaf is consequently a sign of environmental recovery.
The olive branch later became a widespread symbol of peace, although the Genesis passage itself focuses on the flood’s recession. The story also distinguishes the dove from the raven, which Noah releases first.