The white-whiskered spinetail (Synallaxis candei) is a species of bird in the Furnariinae subfamily of the ovenbird family Furnariidae.

[4][5] The white-whiskered spinetail has three subspecies, the nominate S. c. candei (d'Orbigny & Lafresnaye, 1838), S. c. atrigularis (Todd, 1917), and S. c. venezuelensis (Cory, 1913).

Their crown is dark gray mottled with black and their nape, back, rump and uppertail coverts bright rufous.

Subspecies S. c. atrigularis has a brown back, with no supercilium, grayish white flecks on the black cheek and chin, a dusky chestnut base to the tail, and a duller breast and more olivaceous flanks than the nominate.S.

c. venezuelensis is paler overall than the nominate, with a white throat with a black band below it and a sharper delineation between the tail's colors.

[7][8] The nominate subspecies of the white-whiskered spinetail is found in northern Colombia's Sucre and Magdalena departments.

S. c. venezuelensis is found in far northern Colombia's Cesar and La Guajira departments and east into northwestern Venezuela as far as Falcón and Lara states.

[7] The white-whiskered spinetail inhabits tropical deciduous forest, arid scrublands, overgrown pastures, and the edges of mangrove stands.