In early Greek mythology, sirens were actually prophets and described as having bodies of a bird and beautiful human heads. The numbers and names of the sirens are inconsistant in classical mythology.
Sirens are skilled musicians both vocally and instrumentally.
According to the writers who claimed there were three of them, one sang, one played the lyre, and one played the flute. There on the island they awaited passing ships. They were companions of Persephone and were with her when she was kidnapped by Hades. Hades and their voices were so sweet that enchanted sailors smashed their ships upon the rocks beneath the Sirens' coastal meadow. Lycophorn calls the Sirens 'barren nightingales and slayers of the Centaurs , because the Centaurs were so charmed with their song that they forgot to eat.