The first thing Noah sent out of the Ark in the Genesis Flood story was a raven.
Genesis 8:6–7 says that after 40 days Noah opened the window he had made and sent out a raven. The raven went back and forth until the waters had dried from the earth. Noah then sent out a dove several times to test whether the floodwaters had receded from the ground.
The raven and dove have different roles in the sequence. The raven’s repeated flight is described first, while the dove later returns with an olive leaf and eventually does not return. Because the dove is the more famous symbol associated with the story, summaries sometimes incorrectly call it the first bird released.
The episode occurs after the ark rests on the mountains of Ararat, but before Noah and his family leave the vessel. Genesis presents the bird flights as practical signs within the narrative’s account of the receding waters.