Blinks are non-verbal communications

[Pajarita]

This is an article on a human study, of course, and their deductions are all human-oriented BUT, as a person who has in the past and still deals with feral, semi-feral or very scared animals, I've known for a very long time that blinks are, most definitely, verbal communication for them. Same as staring is - especially for prey animals. I've had to tame ferals and, although patience, calm and persistence are key, the 'averting your eyes' at the beginning goes to looking for a few seconds and slowly blinking while doing it. It works wonders to calm down fears in animals because predators/enemies not only stare but also don't blink in a slow, leisurely manner.

https://www.zmescience.com/science/news ... -242789930