PIGEON EGG
The larger end of the egg contains the air cell that forms when the contents of the egg cool down and contract after it is laid. Chicken eggs are graded according to the size of this air cell, measured during candling. A very fresh egg has a small air cell and receives a grade of AA. As the size of the air cell increases, and the quality of the egg decreases, the grade moves from AA to A to B. This provides a way of testing the age of an egg: as the air cell increases in size, the egg becomes less dense and the larger end of the egg will rise to increasingly shallower depths when the egg is placed in a bowl of water. A very old egg will actually float in the water and should not be eaten.[14]
Schematic of a pigeon egg:
1. Eggshell
2. Outer membrane
3. Inner membrane
4. Chalaza
5. Exterior albumen
6. Middle albumen
7. Vitelline membrane
8. Nucleus of pander
9. Germinal disc (nucleus)
10. Yellow yolk
11. White yolk
12. Internal albumen
13. Chalaza
14. Air cell
15. Cuticula