diff --git a/Lib/shutil.py b/Lib/shutil.py
index 2fca61c..c50184c 100644
--- a/Lib/shutil.py
+++ b/Lib/shutil.py
@@ -122,7 +122,7 @@
                 copy2(srcname, dstname)
             # XXX What about devices, sockets etc.?
         except (IOError, os.error), why:
-            errors.append((srcname, dstname, why))
+            errors.append((srcname, dstname, str(why)))
         # catch the Error from the recursive copytree so that we can
         # continue with other files
         except Error, err: