What did the dove bring back to Noah’s Ark to show that floodwaters were receding?

The dove brought a freshly plucked olive leaf back to Noah’s Ark to show that the floodwaters were receding.

Genesis 8:11 records this event after Noah first sent the dove out and it returned without finding a place to rest. On the next release, the bird came back in the evening carrying the leaf, indicating that vegetation had reappeared above the waters.

The olive leaf became one of the best-known visual details associated with the ark story. In later art and public symbolism, a dove with an olive branch often represents peace, reconciliation, or hope.

The biblical wording is specifically an olive leaf, not a generic branch or a fig leaf. Genesis then says Noah waited seven more days and released the dove again; this time it did not return, suggesting that the land had become habitable.