Which raven did Noah send out first from the Ark in Genesis?

Noah first sent out a raven from the Ark in Genesis. Genesis 8:7 says he released the raven after the waters began to recede, and it went back and forth until the waters dried from the earth. Noah then sent a dove to gather clearer evidence about the land.

The raven and dove have different roles in the narrative. The raven’s behavior is described briefly, while the dove’s three flights provide a sequence of signs: no place to rest, an olive leaf, and finally no return. The dove therefore receives most of the attention in later retellings and artwork.

A raven is a member of the crow family and can fly long distances and feed on carrion, making it a plausible bird for a story set after a catastrophic flood. Genesis does not explain why Noah chose these particular birds.

The order matters because popular images sometimes show only the dove. The biblical account explicitly names the raven first, followed by the dove.