A dove returned to Noah with an olive leaf after being sent from the Ark.
Genesis 8 describes Noah sending birds to test whether the floodwaters had receded. After first sending a raven, Noah sent a dove. The dove initially found nowhere to land, but on a later flight it returned with a freshly plucked olive leaf, showing that vegetation had become visible again.
Noah sent the dove once more, and it did not return. That absence indicated that the land was becoming habitable. The sequence is therefore not simply a story about a bird carrying a leaf; it is also a practical test of changing water levels.
The olive branch later became a widely recognized symbol of peace, although its modern symbolic use extends beyond the specific meaning it has in Genesis. In the biblical episode, the leaf primarily signals that the floodwaters are retreating.