diff --git a/birdnet-pi/rootfs/etc/cont-init.d/81-modifications.sh b/birdnet-pi/rootfs/etc/cont-init.d/81-modifications.sh
index fd2f15ac6..7ca175232 100755
--- a/birdnet-pi/rootfs/etc/cont-init.d/81-modifications.sh
+++ b/birdnet-pi/rootfs/etc/cont-init.d/81-modifications.sh
@@ -97,5 +97,5 @@ sed -i -e '/<option disabled selected>/s/selected//' \
 # Correct language labels according to birdnet.conf
 echo "... adapting labels according to birdnet.conf"
 export "$(grep "^DATABASE_LANG" /config/birdnet.conf)" || bashio::log.warning "DATABASE_LANG not found in configuration. Using default labels."
-bashio::log.info "Setting language to $DATABASE_LANG"
+bashio::log.info "Setting language to ${DATABASE_LANG:-eng}"
 "$HOME/BirdNET-Pi/scripts/install_language_label_nm.sh" -l "$DATABASE_LANG" &>/dev/null || bashio::log.warning "Failed to update language labels"