The White-whiskered Spinetail has a black face marked by a white moustache stripe. A Colombia field page documents the nominate form in dry scrub at Los Flamencos, La Guajira, and notes that nearby forms differ in face and throat color.
A regional field guide describes a gray-brown crown, bright rufous mantle, black sides of the head edged by a broad white moustache line joining at the chin, and a black lower throat.
The Birds of Colombia page shows the nominate candei at Los Flamencos Wildlife Sanctuary in La Guajira and notes desert scrub habitat. It also reports that populations closer to Venezuela differ in face and throat pattern.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.