  Let $X$ be a non-singular projective curve of genus $g\ge2$ over an
algebraically closed field of characteristic zero. Let $\mo$ denote the moduli
space of stable bundles of rank $n$ and degree $d$ on $X$ and $\wn $ the
Brill-Noether loci in $\mo .$ We prove that, if $0\leq d \leq n $ and $\wn $ is
non-empty, then it is irreducible of the expected dimension and smooth outside
$\wnn$. We prove further that in this range $\wn$ is non-empty if and only if
$d>0$, $n\leq d+(n-k)g$ and $(n,d,k) \not= (n,n,n)$. We also prove
irreducibility and non-emptiness for the semistable Brill-Noether loci.
