diff --git a/src/cmd_api.rs b/src/cmd_api.rs
index 4183098a..3e27ccb7 100644
--- a/src/cmd_api.rs
+++ b/src/cmd_api.rs
@@ -189,7 +189,12 @@ impl crate::cmd::Command for CmdApi {
             }
 
             if !status.is_success() {
-                return Err(anyhow!("{} {}", status, status.canonical_reason().unwrap_or("")));
+                let body = resp.text().await?;
+                return Err(if body.is_empty() {
+                    anyhow!("{status}")
+                } else {
+                    anyhow!("{status}: {body}")
+                });
             }
 
             if self.paginate {
diff --git a/src/tests.rs b/src/tests.rs
index 8791b42f..cab3a99e 100644
--- a/src/tests.rs
+++ b/src/tests.rs
@@ -520,7 +520,7 @@ cli_tests! {
             svec!["zoo", "api", "foo/bar"],
         )
         .setup(setup_authenticated)
-        .stderr_contains("404 Not Found Not Found")
+        .stderr_contains("404 Not Found:")
         .exit_code(1)
     }