A dove returned to Noah with a freshly plucked olive leaf after the Flood.
Genesis 8:11 describes Noah sending out a dove for the second time. The bird returned in the evening with an olive leaf in its beak, showing that the floodwaters had receded enough for vegetation to reappear.
Noah sent the dove again seven days later, and it did not return. That absence signaled that the bird had found habitable land. The dove and olive branch therefore became enduring symbols of peace, renewal, and hope.
The narrative distinguishes the dove’s flights from the earlier raven episode. The raven was sent first, while the dove provided the recognizable evidence of renewed plant life. Artistic depictions sometimes show the bird with a branch, but Genesis specifically describes a freshly plucked olive leaf.