don't log the expected case
diff --git a/src/couch_index/src/couch_index_server.erl b/src/couch_index/src/couch_index_server.erl
index c344002..a27612a 100644
--- a/src/couch_index/src/couch_index_server.erl
+++ b/src/couch_index/src/couch_index_server.erl
@@ -312,6 +312,8 @@
         try
             mem3:local_shards(mem3:dbname(DbName))
         catch
+            error:database_does_not_exist ->
+                [];
             Class:Msg ->
                 couch_log:warning(
                     "~p got ~p:~p when fetching local shards for ~p",