Alauda

Alauda is a genus of larks with four species found across much of Europe, Asia and in the mountains of north Africa, and one species (the Raso lark) endemic to the islet of Raso in the Cape Verde Islands.

These birds are 14–18 cm long and live in cultivation, heath, natural steppe and other open habitats. The long, unbroken song is a clear, bubbling warble delivered high in the air while the bird is rising, circling or hovering. They are fairly undistinguished: streaked brown above and pale below, with a short, blunt, erectile crest. In flight, they display a short tail and short broad wings. The tail and the rear edge of the wings are edged with white.

Their diet consists of seeds, supplemented with insects in the breeding season. They nest on the ground in tufts of grass, with three to six eggs per clutch. They form flocks when not breeding.

Species in taxonomic order

702 Alauda

702 Alauda is a large asteroid 7005195000000000000♠195±3 km in diameter. It was discovered in 1910 by Joseph Helffrich from the observatory at Heidelberg University. It is named after the lark (alauda). In 2007, a small moon, named Pichi üñëm, was discovered.

Satellite

Alauda's satellite Pichi üñëm (provisionally known as S/2007 (702) 1) was discovered from observations using adaptive-optics imaging with the European Southern Observatory (ESO) 8-m Very Large Telescope (VLT) on Cerro Paranal, Chile. It is 5.5 km in diameter and has a projected separation from Alauda of 900 km. It was named Pichi üñëm, meaning "little bird" in the Mapuche language of Chile, the country from which the moon was discovered.

Orbital characteristics

Alauda has been identified as the largest member of a dynamical family. Other members of this family include: 581 Tauntonia, 1101 Clematis, 1838 Ursa, 3139 Shantou, 3325 TARDIS, 4368 Pillmore, 5360 Rozhdestvenskij, 5815 Shinsengumi, and many others. Alauda's moon may be a result of the collision that created the asteroid family.