What was the first sign of land that Noah received from a bird after the flood?

The first sign of land Noah received from a bird was a freshly plucked olive leaf.

Genesis 8:11 says that the dove returned to Noah in the evening carrying a freshly plucked olive leaf. Noah understood this as evidence that the waters had receded from the earth. The detail comes after the dove’s earlier return without a reported object and before its final release, when it did not return.

The passage specifies an olive leaf, not a branch from an unspecified tree. The familiar expression “olive branch” is often used symbolically, but Genesis’s wording is more precise: the bird carries a freshly plucked leaf. The text also does not say that the dove flew directly to a visible shoreline.

The olive leaf later became a widespread symbol of peace and renewal, partly because of its association with this story. In the narrative itself, its immediate function is practical: it signals that vegetation is again accessible above the receding waters.