A raven was the first bird Noah sent out from Noah’s Ark after the Flood waters began to fall.
Genesis 8 says that Noah opened the ark’s window and sent out a raven. The bird went back and forth until the waters had dried from the earth. Noah then sent a dove to find out whether the waters had receded from the ground.
The raven and the dove have different roles in the account. The raven is mentioned first, while the dove is sent repeatedly: it initially returns because it finds no resting place, later returns with a freshly plucked olive leaf, and finally does not return. The olive leaf is therefore associated with the dove, not the raven.
This sequence is one of the narrative details most often simplified in retellings. The text does not say that the raven brought Noah a message or an object; it describes its repeated movement outside the ark.