diff --git a/hgext/rebase.py b/hgext/rebase.py
--- a/hgext/rebase.py
+++ b/hgext/rebase.py
@@ -573,8 +573,8 @@
                 ui.debug('rebased as %s\n' % short(newnode))
             else:
                 if not self.collapsef:
-                    ui.warn(_('note: rebase of %s created no changes '
-                              'to commit\n') % desc)
+                    ui.warn(_('note: not rebasing %s, its destination already '
+                              'has all its changes\n') % desc)
                     self.skipped.add(rev)
                 self.state[rev] = p1
                 ui.debug('next revision set to %d\n' % p1)
diff --git a/tests/test-rebase-abort.t b/tests/test-rebase-abort.t
--- a/tests/test-rebase-abort.t
+++ b/tests/test-rebase-abort.t
@@ -206,7 +206,7 @@
   
   $ hg rebase -b 4 -d 2
   rebasing 3:a6484957d6b9 "B bis"
-  note: rebase of 3:a6484957d6b9 "B bis" created no changes to commit
+  note: not rebasing 3:a6484957d6b9 "B bis", its destination already has all its changes
   rebasing 4:145842775fec "C1" (tip)
   merging c
   warning: conflicts while merging c! (edit, then use 'hg resolve --mark')
@@ -493,7 +493,7 @@
   $ hg commit -m 'add content draft' -q
 
   $ hg rebase -d 'public()' --tool :merge -q
-  note: rebase of 3:0682fd3dabf5 "disappear draft" created no changes to commit
+  note: not rebasing 3:0682fd3dabf5 "disappear draft", its destination already has all its changes
   warning: conflicts while merging root! (edit, then use 'hg resolve --mark')
   unresolved conflicts (see hg resolve, then hg rebase --continue)
   [1]
diff --git a/tests/test-rebase-cache.t b/tests/test-rebase-cache.t
--- a/tests/test-rebase-cache.t
+++ b/tests/test-rebase-cache.t
@@ -231,7 +231,7 @@
   
   $ hg rebase -s 7 -d 6
   rebasing 7:653b9feb4616 "branch3"
-  note: rebase of 7:653b9feb4616 "branch3" created no changes to commit
+  note: not rebasing 7:653b9feb4616 "branch3", its destination already has all its changes
   rebasing 8:4666b71e8e32 "F" (tip)
   saved backup bundle to $TESTTMP/a3/.hg/strip-backup/653b9feb4616-3c88de16-rebase.hg
 
diff --git a/tests/test-rebase-collapse.t b/tests/test-rebase-collapse.t
--- a/tests/test-rebase-collapse.t
+++ b/tests/test-rebase-collapse.t
@@ -500,7 +500,7 @@
   
   $ hg rebase -s 5 -d 4
   rebasing 5:fbfb97b1089a "E" (tip)
-  note: rebase of 5:fbfb97b1089a "E" (tip) created no changes to commit
+  note: not rebasing 5:fbfb97b1089a "E" (tip), its destination already has all its changes
   saved backup bundle to $TESTTMP/e/.hg/strip-backup/fbfb97b1089a-553e1d85-rebase.hg
   $ hg tglog
   @  4: f338eb3c2c7c 'E'
diff --git a/tests/test-rebase-detach.t b/tests/test-rebase-detach.t
--- a/tests/test-rebase-detach.t
+++ b/tests/test-rebase-detach.t
@@ -304,7 +304,7 @@
   continue: hg rebase --continue
   $ hg rebase -c
   rebasing 3:17b4880d2402 "B2" (tip)
-  note: rebase of 3:17b4880d2402 "B2" (tip) created no changes to commit
+  note: not rebasing 3:17b4880d2402 "B2" (tip), its destination already has all its changes
   saved backup bundle to $TESTTMP/a7/.hg/strip-backup/17b4880d2402-1ae1f6cc-rebase.hg
   $ hg  log -G --template "{rev}:{phase} '{desc}' {branches}\n"
   o  2:draft 'C'
diff --git a/tests/test-rebase-emptycommit.t b/tests/test-rebase-emptycommit.t
--- a/tests/test-rebase-emptycommit.t
+++ b/tests/test-rebase-emptycommit.t
@@ -51,9 +51,9 @@
 
   $ hg rebase -r 3+4 -d E --keep
   rebasing 3:e7b3f00ed42e "D" (BOOK-D)
-  note: rebase of 3:e7b3f00ed42e "D" (BOOK-D) created no changes to commit
+  note: not rebasing 3:e7b3f00ed42e "D" (BOOK-D), its destination already has all its changes
   rebasing 4:69a34c08022a "E" (BOOK-E)
-  note: rebase of 4:69a34c08022a "E" (BOOK-E) created no changes to commit
+  note: not rebasing 4:69a34c08022a "E" (BOOK-E), its destination already has all its changes
   $ hg log -G -T '{rev} {desc} {bookmarks}'
   o  7 E BOOK-D BOOK-E
   |
@@ -84,9 +84,9 @@
   $ hg rebase -s 2 -d E
   rebasing 2:dc0947a82db8 "C" (BOOK-C C)
   rebasing 3:e7b3f00ed42e "D" (BOOK-D)
-  note: rebase of 3:e7b3f00ed42e "D" (BOOK-D) created no changes to commit
+  note: not rebasing 3:e7b3f00ed42e "D" (BOOK-D), its destination already has all its changes
   rebasing 4:69a34c08022a "E" (BOOK-E)
-  note: rebase of 4:69a34c08022a "E" (BOOK-E) created no changes to commit
+  note: not rebasing 4:69a34c08022a "E" (BOOK-E), its destination already has all its changes
   rebasing 5:6b2aeab91270 "F" (BOOK-F F)
   saved backup bundle to $TESTTMP/non-merge/.hg/strip-backup/dc0947a82db8-52bb4973-rebase.hg
   $ hg log -G -T '{rev} {desc} {bookmarks}'
@@ -131,11 +131,11 @@
 
   $ hg rebase -r '(A::)-(B::)-A' -d H
   rebasing 2:dc0947a82db8 "C" (BOOK-C)
-  note: rebase of 2:dc0947a82db8 "C" (BOOK-C) created no changes to commit
+  note: not rebasing 2:dc0947a82db8 "C" (BOOK-C), its destination already has all its changes
   rebasing 3:b18e25de2cf5 "D" (BOOK-D)
-  note: rebase of 3:b18e25de2cf5 "D" (BOOK-D) created no changes to commit
+  note: not rebasing 3:b18e25de2cf5 "D" (BOOK-D), its destination already has all its changes
   rebasing 4:86a1f6686812 "E" (BOOK-E E)
-  note: rebase of 4:86a1f6686812 "E" (BOOK-E E) created no changes to commit
+  note: not rebasing 4:86a1f6686812 "E" (BOOK-E E), its destination already has all its changes
   saved backup bundle to $TESTTMP/merge1/.hg/strip-backup/b18e25de2cf5-1fd0a4ba-rebase.hg
 
   $ hg log -G -T '{rev} {desc} {bookmarks}'
@@ -180,11 +180,11 @@
 
   $ hg rebase -r '(A::)-(B::)-A' -d H
   rebasing 2:dc0947a82db8 "C" (BOOK-C)
-  note: rebase of 2:dc0947a82db8 "C" (BOOK-C) created no changes to commit
+  note: not rebasing 2:dc0947a82db8 "C" (BOOK-C), its destination already has all its changes
   rebasing 3:b18e25de2cf5 "D" (BOOK-D D)
   rebasing 4:03ca77807e91 "E" (BOOK-E E)
   rebasing 5:ad6717a6a58e "F" (BOOK-F)
-  note: rebase of 5:ad6717a6a58e "F" (BOOK-F) created no changes to commit
+  note: not rebasing 5:ad6717a6a58e "F" (BOOK-F), its destination already has all its changes
   rebasing 6:c58e8bdac1f4 "G" (BOOK-G G)
   saved backup bundle to $TESTTMP/merge2/.hg/strip-backup/b18e25de2cf5-2d487005-rebase.hg
 
diff --git a/tests/test-rebase-interruptions.t b/tests/test-rebase-interruptions.t
--- a/tests/test-rebase-interruptions.t
+++ b/tests/test-rebase-interruptions.t
@@ -454,7 +454,7 @@
   continue: hg rebase --continue
   $ hg rebase --continue
   rebasing 1:fdaca8533b86 "b"
-  note: rebase of 1:fdaca8533b86 "b" created no changes to commit
+  note: not rebasing 1:fdaca8533b86 "b", its destination already has all its changes
   saved backup bundle to $TESTTMP/repo/.hg/strip-backup/fdaca8533b86-7fd70513-rebase.hg
   $ hg resolve --list
   $ test -d .hg/merge
diff --git a/tests/test-rebase-mq-skip.t b/tests/test-rebase-mq-skip.t
--- a/tests/test-rebase-mq-skip.t
+++ b/tests/test-rebase-mq-skip.t
@@ -62,7 +62,7 @@
   committing changelog
   rebasing 3:148775c71080 "P1" (p1.patch qtip)
   resolving manifests
-  note: rebase of 3:148775c71080 "P1" (p1.patch qtip) created no changes to commit
+  note: not rebasing 3:148775c71080 "P1" (p1.patch qtip), its destination already has all its changes
   rebase merging completed
   updating mq patch p0.patch to 5:9ecc820b1737
   $TESTTMP/a/.hg/patches/p0.patch
@@ -143,10 +143,10 @@
 
   $ HGMERGE=internal:fail hg rebase
   rebasing 1:b4bffa6e4776 "r1" (qbase r1)
-  note: rebase of 1:b4bffa6e4776 "r1" (qbase r1) created no changes to commit
+  note: not rebasing 1:b4bffa6e4776 "r1" (qbase r1), its destination already has all its changes
   rebasing 2:c0fd129beb01 "r2" (r2)
   rebasing 3:6ff5b8feed8e "r3" (r3)
-  note: rebase of 3:6ff5b8feed8e "r3" (r3) created no changes to commit
+  note: not rebasing 3:6ff5b8feed8e "r3" (r3), its destination already has all its changes
   rebasing 4:094320fec554 "r4" (r4)
   unresolved conflicts (see hg resolve, then hg rebase --continue)
   [1]
@@ -160,10 +160,10 @@
   already rebased 2:c0fd129beb01 "r2" (r2) as 1660ab13ce9a
   already rebased 3:6ff5b8feed8e "r3" (r3) as 1660ab13ce9a
   rebasing 4:094320fec554 "r4" (r4)
-  note: rebase of 4:094320fec554 "r4" (r4) created no changes to commit
+  note: not rebasing 4:094320fec554 "r4" (r4), its destination already has all its changes
   rebasing 5:681a378595ba "r5" (r5)
   rebasing 6:512a1f24768b "r6" (qtip r6)
-  note: rebase of 6:512a1f24768b "r6" (qtip r6) created no changes to commit
+  note: not rebasing 6:512a1f24768b "r6" (qtip r6), its destination already has all its changes
   saved backup bundle to $TESTTMP/b/.hg/strip-backup/b4bffa6e4776-b9bfb84d-rebase.hg
 
   $ hg tglog
diff --git a/tests/test-rebase-mq.t b/tests/test-rebase-mq.t
--- a/tests/test-rebase-mq.t
+++ b/tests/test-rebase-mq.t
@@ -337,7 +337,7 @@
   foo
   $ [ -f .hg/patches/empty-important ]
   $ hg -q rebase -d 2
-  note: rebase of 1:0aaf4c3af7eb "important commit message" (empty-important qbase) created no changes to commit
+  note: not rebasing 1:0aaf4c3af7eb "important commit message" (empty-important qbase), its destination already has all its changes
   $ hg qseries
   guarded
   bar
diff --git a/tests/test-rebase-named-branches.t b/tests/test-rebase-named-branches.t
--- a/tests/test-rebase-named-branches.t
+++ b/tests/test-rebase-named-branches.t
@@ -157,7 +157,7 @@
   
   $ hg rebase -b 'max(branch("dev-two"))' -d dev-one --keepbranches
   rebasing 5:bc8139ee757c "dev-one named branch"
-  note: rebase of 5:bc8139ee757c "dev-one named branch" created no changes to commit
+  note: not rebasing 5:bc8139ee757c "dev-one named branch", its destination already has all its changes
   rebasing 6:42aa3cf0fa7a "F"
   rebasing 7:1a1e6f72ec38 "G"
   rebasing 8:904590360559 "H"
@@ -329,7 +329,7 @@
   $ hg up -qr 2
   $ hg rebase
   rebasing 2:792845bb77ee "b2"
-  note: rebase of 2:792845bb77ee "b2" created no changes to commit
+  note: not rebasing 2:792845bb77ee "b2", its destination already has all its changes
   saved backup bundle to $TESTTMP/case1/.hg/strip-backup/792845bb77ee-627120ee-rebase.hg
   $ hg tglog
   o  2: c062e3ecd6c6 'c1' c
@@ -395,7 +395,7 @@
   $ hg rebase -r 3:: -d .
   rebasing 3:76abc1c6f8c7 "b1"
   rebasing 4:8427af5d86f2 "c2 closed" (tip)
-  note: rebase of 4:8427af5d86f2 "c2 closed" (tip) created no changes to commit
+  note: not rebasing 4:8427af5d86f2 "c2 closed" (tip), its destination already has all its changes
   saved backup bundle to $TESTTMP/case2/.hg/strip-backup/76abc1c6f8c7-cd698d13-rebase.hg
   $ hg tglog
   o  3: 117b0ed08075 'b1' x
diff --git a/tests/test-rebase-newancestor.t b/tests/test-rebase-newancestor.t
--- a/tests/test-rebase-newancestor.t
+++ b/tests/test-rebase-newancestor.t
@@ -130,7 +130,7 @@
   > c
   > EOF
   rebasing 1:1d1a643d390e "dev: create branch"
-  note: rebase of 1:1d1a643d390e "dev: create branch" created no changes to commit
+  note: not rebasing 1:1d1a643d390e "dev: create branch", its destination already has all its changes
   rebasing 2:ec2c14fb2984 "dev: f-dev stuff"
   rebasing 4:4b019212aaf6 "dev: merge default"
   file 'f-default' was deleted in local [dest] but was modified in other [source].
diff --git a/tests/test-rebase-obsolete.t b/tests/test-rebase-obsolete.t
--- a/tests/test-rebase-obsolete.t
+++ b/tests/test-rebase-obsolete.t
@@ -129,10 +129,10 @@
   grafting 3:32af7686d403 "D"
   $ hg rebase  -s 42ccdea3bb16 -d .
   rebasing 1:42ccdea3bb16 "B"
-  note: rebase of 1:42ccdea3bb16 "B" created no changes to commit
+  note: not rebasing 1:42ccdea3bb16 "B", its destination already has all its changes
   rebasing 2:5fddd98957c8 "C"
   rebasing 3:32af7686d403 "D"
-  note: rebase of 3:32af7686d403 "D" created no changes to commit
+  note: not rebasing 3:32af7686d403 "D", its destination already has all its changes
   $ hg log -G
   o  10:5ae4c968c6ac C
   |
@@ -1456,7 +1456,7 @@
   rebasing 2:b18e25de2cf5 "D" (D)
   note: not rebasing 3:7fb047a69f22 "E" (E), already in destination as 1:112478962961 "B" (B)
   rebasing 5:66f1a38021c9 "F" (F tip)
-  note: rebase of 5:66f1a38021c9 "F" (F tip) created no changes to commit
+  note: not rebasing 5:66f1a38021c9 "F" (F tip), its destination already has all its changes
   $ hg log -G
   o  6:8f47515dda15 D
   |
@@ -1492,7 +1492,7 @@
   note: not rebasing 2:b18e25de2cf5 "D" (D), already in destination as 1:112478962961 "B" (B)
   rebasing 3:7fb047a69f22 "E" (E)
   rebasing 5:66f1a38021c9 "F" (F tip)
-  note: rebase of 5:66f1a38021c9 "F" (F tip) created no changes to commit
+  note: not rebasing 5:66f1a38021c9 "F" (F tip), its destination already has all its changes
 
   $ hg log -G
   o  6:533690786a86 E
diff --git a/tests/test-rebase-parameters.t b/tests/test-rebase-parameters.t
--- a/tests/test-rebase-parameters.t
+++ b/tests/test-rebase-parameters.t
@@ -440,7 +440,7 @@
 
   $ hg rebase -s 2 -d 1 --tool internal:local
   rebasing 2:e4e3f3546619 "c2b" (tip)
-  note: rebase of 2:e4e3f3546619 "c2b" (tip) created no changes to commit
+  note: not rebasing 2:e4e3f3546619 "c2b" (tip), its destination already has all its changes
   saved backup bundle to $TESTTMP/b1/.hg/strip-backup/e4e3f3546619-b0841178-rebase.hg
 
   $ hg cat c2
@@ -493,7 +493,7 @@
   [255]
   $ hg rebase -c --tool internal:fail
   rebasing 2:e4e3f3546619 "c2b" (tip)
-  note: rebase of 2:e4e3f3546619 "c2b" (tip) created no changes to commit
+  note: not rebasing 2:e4e3f3546619 "c2b" (tip), its destination already has all its changes
   saved backup bundle to $TESTTMP/b3/.hg/strip-backup/e4e3f3546619-b0841178-rebase.hg
 
   $ hg rebase -i
diff --git a/tests/test-rebase-scenario-global.t b/tests/test-rebase-scenario-global.t
--- a/tests/test-rebase-scenario-global.t
+++ b/tests/test-rebase-scenario-global.t
@@ -138,7 +138,7 @@
   $ hg rebase -s 4 -d 7
   rebasing 4:9520eea781bc "E"
   rebasing 6:eea13746799a "G"
-  note: rebase of 6:eea13746799a "G" created no changes to commit
+  note: not rebasing 6:eea13746799a "G", its destination already has all its changes
   saved backup bundle to $TESTTMP/a3/.hg/strip-backup/9520eea781bc-fcd8edd4-rebase.hg
   $ f E.orig
   E.orig: file not found
@@ -169,7 +169,7 @@
   $ hg rebase -s 5 -d 4
   rebasing 5:24b6387c8c8c "F"
   rebasing 6:eea13746799a "G"
-  note: rebase of 6:eea13746799a "G" created no changes to commit
+  note: not rebasing 6:eea13746799a "G", its destination already has all its changes
   rebasing 7:02de42196ebe "H" (tip)
   saved backup bundle to $TESTTMP/a4/.hg/strip-backup/24b6387c8c8c-c3fe765d-rebase.hg
 
diff --git a/tests/test-remotefilelog-linknodes.t b/tests/test-remotefilelog-linknodes.t
--- a/tests/test-remotefilelog-linknodes.t
+++ b/tests/test-remotefilelog-linknodes.t
@@ -87,7 +87,7 @@
   $ hg pull -q
   $ hg rebase -d tip
   rebasing 1:4549721d828f "xx2"
-  note: rebase of 1:4549721d828f "xx2" created no changes to commit
+  note: not rebasing 1:4549721d828f "xx2", its destination already has all its changes
   rebasing 2:5ef6d97e851c "xxy"
   saved backup bundle to $TESTTMP/shallow/.hg/strip-backup/4549721d828f-b084e33c-rebase.hg (glob)
   $ hg log -f x --template '{node|short}\n'