unsigned char sha1[20];
        s->is_initial = get_sha1(s->reference, sha1) ? 1 : 0;
 
-       if (s->branch)
+       if (s->branch) {
+               const char *on_what = "On branch ";
+               const char *branch_name = s->branch;
+               if (!strncmp(branch_name, "refs/heads/", 11))
+                       branch_name += 11;
+               else if (!strcmp(branch_name, "HEAD")) {
+                       branch_name = "";
+                       on_what = "Not currently on any branch.";
+               }
                color_printf_ln(color(WT_STATUS_HEADER),
-                       "# On branch %s", s->branch);
+                       "# %s%s", on_what, branch_name);
+       }
 
        if (s->is_initial) {
                color_printf_ln(color(WT_STATUS_HEADER), "#");